


Healing Old Wounds

by khrysm



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Flashbacks, M/M, Slow To Update, healing arrow
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-07
Updated: 2020-08-03
Packaged: 2020-08-11 11:00:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 39,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20152510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/khrysm/pseuds/khrysm
Summary: **SMALL REWRITES INCOMING**(A new voiceline interaction confirmed a sneaking suspicion I had about certain characters' backstories, so I have to do a few edits...)The world thought it didn't need Overwatch... Angela agreed with that mindset once. Then she received a message that set her back on a path to reunite with Overwatch and ghosts from her past.





	1. Prologue: The Message

## Prologue: The Message

Angela made her way down the gilded walkway just outside the Oasis City Center. She dressed herself casually, wearing a crisp button-down shirt, light khakis, and tan loafers. Her hair was covered with a scarf, and she wore a pair of sunglasses to keep the blinding sun out of her eyes. The hovercars zipped by as they sped down to the tunnel under the tower at the center of the city. Taking a wide turn around the central plaza, she entered a quiet little cafe. After she picked up the coffee she ordered, she made her way to a table in the corner and took a seat.

A few minutes later, a dark-skinned man takes a seat across from her. He wore a hood and sunglasses, as well as a long tattered coat. A curious pair of boots poked out from under the hem of his coat.

“I’m relieved that you agreed to meet with me,” he said.

Angela took a sip of her coffee and put her cup down. “I was surprised to hear from you. I’m glad to see you in good health.”

“Likewise.” The man lowered his head as he glanced from side to side. “I had to pull some strings to get in touch with you.” The table rattled slightly from the fact he was shaking his legs nervously.

Anyone could tell the man was extremely agitated. “What’s wrong?”

He wrung his hands together. “You’re in danger.”

Angela narrowed her eyes in concern. “From whom?”

He looked directly at her over the rim of his sunglasses. “Talon.”

Angela sat back in her chair. “Talon…”

“You need to get somewhere safe-”

“How do you know this?”

He looked down at his hands. “I came across a former Overwatch handler who had been taking advantage of the poor in Haiti to line his pockets.”

Angela felt herself grow angry. Not because of Talon. Not because she was compromised by another former Overwatch agent. But because this very agent had let himself be consumed by the veil of power and abused the knowledge and skills he gained to take advantage of the people he should have been helping. It made her sick.

The man pulled a datapad from his bag and laid it on the table before continuing, “He had this datapad with all last known locations of Overwatch agents. That’s how I knew you were in this region.”

“I see,” she said sullenly. “However, you didn’t actually answer my question.”

The man leaned back slowly.

As he did, she leaned forward and lowered her voice. “How did you know that  _ Talon _ was looking for me?”

His eyes glazed over with guilt.

“I see.” She picked up her coffee and took another sip. “Should I be worried?”

He shook his head. “No. You have nothing to fear from me. I’m not with Talon anymore.”

“I’m sure they didn’t appreciate you leaving, am I correct?”

He nodded dejectedly.

Angela lightly ran a finger over the surface of the datapad. “There are probably others who have given this information over, aren’t there?”

He lowered his head. “I don’t have proof, but I am almost certain there are.”

Angela put her coffee down and let her hands fall into her lap. “I had heard rumors… I prayed that they weren’t true.”

He leaned forward. “You need to get out of here. I don’t know who might be tracking you, but you’re not safe here anymore.”

She lowered her eyes. “Nowhere is safe.”

_ I have to do something. I have to protect them… _

Angela then remembered the dire implications for the man who risked his life to warn her of the danger closing in. “What about you?”

He gestured to himself. “Me?”

“You risked yourself to warn me.”

He smiled. “A small price to pay for the wrongdoings I’ve committed against innocents.”

Angela only stared at him, brows pinched together in worry.

“I’ll be fine. I made it this far alone, and I’m still alive.” He stood up and shouldered his bag. “I’m just glad I was able to warn you before they came for you.” He turned to leave, leaving the datapad on the table.

“Wait.”

He stopped and turned back to Angela.

She picked up the datapad and held it out to him. “You’re going to need this.”

He looked down at it with uncertainty. “I don’t think I should carry something with such sensitive information any longer.”

“I trust you with it,” she said smiling. “And I trust you will know what to do with it when the time comes.”

He slowly took the datapad from her.

“Take care of yourself, Jean-Baptiste,” she said in a farewell.

“And you, Doctor Ziegler.”


	2. Ch. 1 - The Recall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angela settles in to life with Overwatch again. She meets with old friends and new friends alike.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has been a story that I've been scripting for a fancomic that I've wanted to draw for years... However, I'm going to just settle with converting it into narrative so that I can finally work towards finishing this story, instead of staring at it and being sad that I might never get to draw this story for myself. Also, almost the entire cast will be in this story at some point (along with the addition of some side-shipping). I just want to get this started so I can clean up all the details after I've managed to actually organize my thoughts into coherent writing.
> 
> Also, my apologies for inconsistencies in narration voice... I wrote much of this in script format in order to draw it as a comic, and as I was converting the story into narrative, I realized that some scenes require shifts from omniscient narration to limited character introspection and such... I hope this doesn't ruin the experience as you read my story. ;-;
> 
> And one last thing, sometimes my narrative gets repetitive because I can't think of clever ways to change things up to get it to flow better... Gonna keep trying to improve as I move onto later chapters!

## Chapter 1: The Recall

Angela’s communicator let out a beep from its resting place on the counter.

“Angela, we have inbound,” Winston’s voice buzzed. “Please report to the landing pad to welcome our new recruits. I’m sure you’ll want to inform them to submit to a physical examination once they’re settled. Echo will assist you.”

Angela smirked at the snarky tone in Winston’s voice.

“Acknowledged,” she responded. “Heading over to the hangar now.”

On the way to the landing pad, Angela spotted Echo floating in place.

Echo greeted Angela and floated along next to her. “Hello, Doctor Ziegler.”

“Hello, Echo. How are you today?”

“I’m doing well. Jesse keeps checking in on me to make sure I’m settling in all right.”

Angela chuckled quietly. “Definitely not a side of Jesse that I’ve ever seen before.”

Echo smiled. “You can’t really blame him. He risked a lot to rescue me from that train heist. Now that he’s got his affairs in order, he’s probably trying to make up for it.”

The pair reached the landing pad as the shuttle touched down. After a few moments, the side hatch opened and lowered into a ramp that passengers could disembark the vessel on.

“Okay, loves! Everyone off!”

Lena’s high-spirited voice cut through the hum of the shuttle powering down.

“Welcome to Watchpoint: Gibraltar!”

Lena noticed the awaiting pair and waved at them energetically.

“Hey, Doctor Ziegler! Hey, Echo!”

Angela and Echo returned the wave. Angela added a vocal greeting as well, “Hello, Lena.”

A voice from behind Lena immediately caught Angela by surprise.

“Don’t you mean, ‘Welcome back’?”

Lena spun around to face the person behind her, hands on her hips. “Zenyatta is still a newcomer! And it still applies to you, Genji.”

_ GENJI?? _

The smile on Angela’s face immediately dropped. Genji’s name shot through her mind so sharply that she heard nothing that followed.

Zenyatta acknowledged Lena’s welcome politely, “Thank you very much, Miss Oxton.”

“How many times do I have to say, ‘Call me ‘Lena’’?”

“A few more times, Miss Oxton,” Zenyatta replied with a chuckle.

Angela’s wits finally came back to her, and she almost whispered, “Genji?”

The three gathered at the foot of the ramp all turned to face Angela.

Genji sheepishly waved to Angela. “Hello, Doctor Ziegler. It’s been a while.”

She said nothing. Instead, she rushed forward and flung her arms around Genji’s neck with such force that Lena had to take a step back to make sure she did not get clipped by Angela.

“Whoa!” Lena exclaimed.

Once Angela pulled away from Genji so she could look him in the face properly, a very wide smile stretched across her face. “Genji. It’s so good to see you.”

“It’s good to see you, too.” Although his face was covered, Genji’s voice still conveyed an expression of mirth.

“I see you decided to answer the Recall,” Angela stated, raising an eyebrow at Genji.

Genji matched Angela’s inquisitive tone, “And you as well.”

After a moment, Angela finally noticed Zenyatta next to them.

“Goodness, I’m so sorry. Where are my manners? You must be Tekhartha Zenyatta.” She extended her hand to him. “I’m Angela Ziegler. It’s so wonderful to finally meet you!”

Zenyatta took her hand and shook it. “The pleasure is all mine. Genji has told me much about you, Doctor Ziegler, and please call me ‘Zenyatta’.”

“Then I insist you call me ‘Angela’.”

“Good luck with that, Doc,” Lena quipped, arms folded in front of her.

Zenyatta chuckled quietly.

“Oh, yes.” Angela turned and raised a hand to Echo who was still standing aside in patient silence. “This is Echo.”

“A pleasure to meet you.” Zenyatta shook Echo’s hand.

“Likewise,” she returned with a smile and gestured to her side. “If introductions are all done, let me escort you to your rooms. Oh, and Lena, Winston wants you to head over to his lab to run diagnostics on your Chronal Accelerator.”

“Will do. Thanks, love!” Lena responded. “See you all later!” She smiled with a salute and disappeared in a streak of blue.

Just as Echo was about to escort Genji and Zenyatta away, Angela remembered to tell the others, “Oh, before you run off, I need the two of you to report to the med lab after you’re all settled to submit a physical.”

Genji and Zenyatta exchanged glances.

“Eh… master?” Genji scratched the back of his head.

Zenyatta turned back to Angela. “Am _ I _ submitting a physical?”

“Of course. I still need records of your diagnostics.”

“Very well,” Zenyatta nodded. “I shall be there.”

Angela responded with a smile and nod. “Thank you. I’ll see you all later then.”

They all bid each other farewell with a smile and a nod. Genji, Zenyatta, and Echo went on their way to the dormitories and Angela returned to her quiet place in the med lab.

\-----

The sterile beeps of the medical equipment were relatively deafening in the silence of the med lab. Echo had escorted Genji and Zenyatta in for their physicals and now floated about in silence, collecting data from Zenyatta’s diagnostics. Genji had his facemask and a couple of panels on his back removed, currently resting on the counter behind him. Zenyatta sat a few feet away with a couple of his major panels removed as well to allow the diagnostic cables to be properly connected. The click of Angela’s heels resonated around the lab as she came up to Echo’s side.

“Okay. Your diagnostics are all complete, Zenyatta. Echo, if you would be so kind.”

“Of course, Doctor.” Echo carefully unfastened the cables from Zenyatta’s back panels.

Angela continued to Zenyatta, “You’re free to leave unless you wish to wait for Genji.”

As Echo helped Zenyatta close the panels to cover his previously exposed ports, he extended his gratitude, “I will take my leave. Thank you, Doctor Ziegler. Thank you, Echo.”

Angela nodded. “You’re welcome.”

Zenyatta turned to his companion still hooked up to his diagnostic machines. “See you later for meditation, Genji.”

Genji replied from his spot a short distance away, “Of course, master. I will see you then.”

Zenyatta waved and floated from the room.

Angela approached Genji’s diagnostic monitors. “You’ll be out of here soon, Genji. Approximately another five minutes for your scan and then a few more tests.”

“Very well,” he responded.

Angela turned to look over her shoulder. “Echo, I’m all set here for now. You’re free to leave if you need to.”

“All right. I’ll head back over to Winston’s lab.”

Angela called out as Echo reached to door, “Actually. If you could send Jesse over for his lab results, I’d really appreciate it.”

Genji jumped slightly at the mention of McCree’s first name.

“Sure thing. I’ll go get him.”

“Thank you,” Angela said with a smile.

Echo returned the smile as she exited, “No problem.”

Angela gave Genji a quick curious glance, wondering why he jumped a moment ago. She decided not to pay it any mind and returned to Genji’s diagnostics.

On the other side of the console, Genji turned his attention back to the Swiss doctor. Ever since he entered the lab, he was observing Angela to see if there were any signs of change since the last time he saw her, particularly noticing that she still lacked rings on her fingers. Now that they were alone, Genji took the opportunity to prod a little.

“So… have you made a lot of friends on your travels, Doctor Ziegler?”

“Hmm?” she mumbled, not really having heard the question.

“You must have met a lot of different people, yes?”

She raised a brow at him. “Of course, what kind of question is that?”

He shook his head and lowered it slightly, trying to respond as nonchalantly as possible. “I just wanted to make sure you were doing well. Making friends…”

She lowered her datapad and looked at him fully. “If you’re concerned that I’ve replaced you, no, I haven’t.” Her voice drifted up and down in curiosity.

He lowered his head further, continuing to be as vague as possible. “That’s not what I was referring to…”

Angela narrowed her eyes and lowered her voice. “Then what were you referring to?”

“Well…” Genji stretched out a pause.

She broke the awkward silence and tried to egg him on.

“Well, _ what? _”

He looked her straight in the eye and said flatly, “Are you seeing anyone?”

Angela made a face that could be described as confused disgust.

“_ What?! _”

The door buzzer interrupted their conversation.

After an awkward pause with Angela glaring daggers at Genji, she finally opened the door intercom and asked, “Who is it?”

A low southern drawl crackled through the speaker. “It’s me.”

“Oh. Come in, Jesse.”

Genji sat up. “McCree?”

Under her breath, Angela hissed at Genji, “We’ll continue this later.”

The door slid open and was immediately filled by a large silhouette wearing a cowboy hat. The clink of spurs could be heard as he stepped into the lab.

“Hey, Doc. Echo said you wanted to see - Genji!”

“McCree,” Genji replied numbly, eyes fixed on McCree’s face.

“Just a sec, Genji. You wanted to see me, Doc?”

Angela worked her mouth around, her mind still reeling about Genji’s question, and grabbed a datapad she had on the counter next to her.

“Yes. I wanted to tell you that I have your test results from your examination and that everything came back nominal.” She made a face and sighed, adding, “Although, I wish you would stop smoking those awful cigars.”

McCree shrugged his shoulders and grinned nonchalantly. “Well, if something happens, I have faith you can get me patched back up, Doc.”

Angela shook her head and sighed again. “It would be a lot simpler if you just stopped that horrible habit.”

“Old habits die hard, Angie.” Probably keen on changing the subject, McCree turned to Genji who was still staring. “So, Genji. I’m glad to see you.”

Angela narrowed her eyes and mumbled under her breath about how Echo had been trying to get him to stop smoking, but he kept refusing. McCree pretended not to hear it.

Genji smirked slightly, glad that he was not the focus of Angela’s ire momentarily, and responded to McCree, “Likewise, although I have to admit, I never expected to see you again.”

“And why’s that?” McCree asked, raising a brow.

Genji tilted his head. “The way things ended with Blackwatch… and then Overwatch…” He turned his eyes to the side as he finished his answer but quickly brought them back to McCree.

McCree nodded slightly and took in a deep breath. “Well, I’m sure you know about that bounty on my head, right?”

Genji nodded back.

“That’s pretty much why I decided it’d be better to have a secure roof over my head, now that I got most of my loose ends in order, instead of wandering around unscrupulous places.” After letting his gaze wander, McCree turned to look Genji straight in the eye. “Just took me a while to get here without attracting _ more _unwanted attention.”

“Good point.” Genji nodded again and gave McCree a meaningful smile. “It’s good to see you are well.”

McCree beamed at Genji. “Same to you! We can catch up later, partner.” The cowboy turned his attention Angela’s way again. “I’ll let you get back to work, Doc. See you around.” And then back to Genji, “See you, Genji.”

Genji said almost robotically, “See you.”

The cowboy tipped his hat to Angela before giving Genji one last smile before exiting the med lab.

After a moment of Angela observing Genji staring at the med lab door for a few beats, she broke the silence.

“So. What was that all about?”

Genji snapped his head around and back to Angela. “Eh?”

“You were staring.”

He raised a hand to face realizing his visor was not covering it. “Was I?”

Angela turned her attention back to her diagnostic screens. “I suppose usually having a visor over your face allows you to get used to being able to freely stare at people without them noticing.”

Lowering his hand, he said, “I was not trying to be rude.”

“I didn’t think you were.”

He stared at the floor.

“I _ did _think you were rude when you asked if I was seeing someone.”

He turned his eyes up to where Angela was working. “Well, you never mentioned anyone in your letters.”

She rolled her eyes and answered, “I have no reason to keep that sort of information from you. Besides, you know my work keeps me busy.”

He tucked his head down slightly. “I know. I was just concerned if you left any time for yourself.”

“Genji, I have no interest in finding a partner right now.”

“Are you sure you’re not just avoiding having one?” he asked, looking at her through the corner of his eye.

Angela’s expression deadpanned. “Are you volunteering?”

“No,” he quickly blurted out.

She leered at him.

Genji tried to grin slightly. “Even if I tried, you wouldn’t want that sort of relationship with me.”

A snort escaped the back of her throat. “How right you are.”

The grin dropped, and he started again with a lot more sincerity, “I just want you to be happy.”

“Genji,” Angela sighed, “helping others as a doctor makes me happy.”

His head dropped slightly.

“I know you’re just concerned about me, but really, I’m fine,” she tried to console him.

He nodded in response. “I know.”

Angela looked over at Genji, who let his head hang defeated in his seat, and tried to think of something to say that would cheer him up. “Speaking of seeing someone, don’t forget about Jesse waiting for you to catch up with him. Okay?”

Genji looked over at her again, and she was smiling warmly at him.

He returned the smile. “I won’t.”


	3. Ch. 2 - Reconnaissance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Genji and McCree are dispatched to Hanamura for reconnaissance. Trouble ensues as they make ready to return to Watchpoint.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Small edits were made to account for Echo's classification as a DPS.

## Chapter 2: Reconnaissance

Angela didn’t get a chance to find out how McCree and Genji’s little catching up session went. Just a couple of days after Genji arrived at Watchpoint: Gibraltar, Winston issued an assignment to Genji and McCree to stake out a location in Hanamura that Genji had brought to Winston’s attention. Genji had made several personal trips to the area and noticed a growing presence of Talon agents. The rise of Talon activity in the region did not sit well with the Overwatch team as a whole, and Winston felt compelled to organize a reconnaissance mission to see if they could find out more.

A few nights into the stakeout, Genji slipped out while McCree was taking his turn to sleep. Even though Genji recently passed through Hanamura, it had been years since he actually took a step on the Shimada Castle grounds. This place was a gilded prison to him, and it was a _ considerable _understatement to say it scarred him for life. He patrolled the rooftops just outside the castle gate, taking note of the fact that even though there was no ruling family living in the castle, there were still guards patrolling the gate and the gardens just beyond.

Genji took a perch on a neighboring rooftop as he counted the men just inside the gate.

_ Looks like they increased the number of guards since the last time. _

Out of the corner of his eye, Genji spotted a dark shadow sprinting the length of the street below. The shadow didn’t even slow down as it reached the chained gate. Instead, he sped up and scaled the gate with ease.

_ Always a creature of habit... _

Genji silently dropped from his perch and trailed behind the shadow. He took his time as he watched the shadow draw a bow and arrow, eliminate the one omnic guard, and then proceed to render the rest of the guards unconscious before slinking away to the main castle. The light inside the castle illuminated the shadow, now clearly a man, showing signs of age with the tufts of gray hair at his temples. The older man knelt, set his bow aside, and placed a bowl and incense holder in front of him. Then he took a sparrowhawk feather and laid it next to the incense holder before lighting two sticks of incense.

Genji shook his head in disappointment. He contemplated finally revealing himself. However, the other man took the choice from him.

“You are not the first assassin sent to kill me,” he began in a low voice. “And you will not be the last.” He placed the incense sticks into the holder on the floor.

Genji increased the power to his cybernetic augments which illuminated the LEDs on his suit and the visor over his eyes. He dropped to the floor a short distance behind the other man and straightened up.

“You are bold to come to Shimada Castle, the den of your enemies,” Genji began with a slight hint of familiarity.

“This was once my home. Did your masters not tell you who I was?” The man snapped his bow up and, in a flash, fired an arrow at Genji.

Genji effortlessly dodged the arrow.

“I know who you are… _ Hanzo _.”

* * *

Genji climbed his way in through the window of the room that he and McCree were staying in. A quick glance over to McCree showed him still lying down with his hat over his eyes and hands folded over his stomach.

The moment Genji had the window completely shut, McCree spoke with surprising clarity, “Odd time to take a stroll.”

Genji quickly looked back over his shoulder. McCree hadn’t moved, but it was obvious that he was wide awake.

“I saw something that needed a closer look,” explained Genji.

McCree shifted in his spot as though trying to get more comfortable and continued, “I know we ain’t the type to keep protocol, but I don’t think you should be taking unnecessary risks like that without telling me about them first.”

“I was careful,” Genji defended himself.

“I know you are,” replied McCree.

“No one saw me.”

“And I believe you.”

Genji felt an itch of irritation crawling up his neck. “Then what’s the problem?”

“Didn’t say there was one.”

Genji buried an aggravated sigh and shook his head. He stood up and returned to his post to let McCree go back to sleep. “Good night, McCree.”

“G’night, Genji.”

* * *

The mood of the next call that Genji and McCree make to Watchpoint: Gibraltar was particularly low. The information they gathered, while limited, had dire implications.

Genji began by identifying a few familiar faces he caught in the groups of people entering and exiting the unmarked building they were observing. “They are collecting influential members of prominent Yakuza clans, particularly the ones with slightly less traditional ideals. Less interested in preservation. More concerned with growing in strength, causing violence. These people are volatile and extremely dangerous.”

On the other end of the line, Winston and Lena exchanged worried glances.

“This is some pretty disconcerting information, Genji. Talon establishing a foothold in Hanamura already does not bode well. Expansion was to be expected, but this -,” Winston held a metered pause, “this feels almost public.”

McCree took over. “It’s not just people moving in and out on a daily basis. There’s cargo, too. Mostly unmarked crates. Can only presume are weapons or something similar. We haven’t seen any large units though. Only small containers, nothing larger than the average-sized storage box. Anything marked seems to be general-purpose technology. Computers, datapads, consoles, displays, etc.”

Winston scratched his chin. “That sounds in line with setting up a general headquarters. More of a meeting grounds than an actual armory.”

Genji nodded. “That is my conclusion as well.”

“So what’s the plan?” McCree asked, trying to incite some action.

Winston turned his gaze down in thought. “We need more information about why they’ve selected Hanamura as a base of operations, but stretching what resources we have now is a gamble that I don’t feel comfortable with.”

McCree declared, “Longer we wait - “

“I know. I know,” Winston interrupted. “We have a confirmed Talon location. We can’t let them get too comfortable.”

“At least let us attempt to gather some more sensitive intelligence,” suggested McCree.

Winston grunted in disagreement. “That’s risking your cover.”

Genji chimed in, “I believe I can get in and out without anyone noticing.”

McCree shot him an angry glance. Genji caught it but only shrugged back.

Winston shook his head. “I can’t sanction that without establishing an extraction plan.”

“No time like the present,” McCree stated flatly.

“Well, I’m already set to pilot the shuttle,” Lena announced.

Winston made another sound of disagreement. “You can’t go alone, and there is a chance that Genji and McCree will require medical assistance.”

It was Genji and McCree’s turn to exchange glances.

Lena said as though dawning on a discovery, “You mean -”

* * *

Angela sat staring at the holographic projector in the more spacious middle section of the shuttle. Echo hovered nearby, analyzing Genji and McCree’s frequencies for any changes that may raise red flags. As she chewed the tip of her gloved thumb, Angela dragged her eyes back and forth from the tiny shuttle icon indicating their current location, along the dashed line that extended from the shuttle icon to the dot on the map indicating Hanamura. It was clear that she was struggling with nervous discomfort. The last time she was in Hanamura, she witnessed an event that shook her to her core. She never had a chance to confide in anyone about what happened. She just hoped that they could get in and out quickly enough to not be reminded of what she witnessed all those years ago.

Lena’s humming could be heard faintly filtering from the cockpit. Even though it was a light-spirited tune, it did little to calm Angela’s nerves. Finally, the unsettling silence was broken by Athena’s voice resounding throughout the shuttle.

“We will reach Hanamura airspace in approximately one hour. Agents Genji and McCree are en route to the extraction point.”

Angela stood from her spot and told Echo, “I’m going to finish suiting up.”

With a nod from Echo, Angela made her way to the cargo bay at the back of the transport. She pulled out a large case from under the seats and set it on top. Inside was a suit that looked similar to her usual Swift-Response Suit. However, the sections that are usually white were dark cobalt. The rest of the suit was black and did not have the front and back stretches of fabric or front side fins that usually gave the suit more stability in flight. Overall, this suit had a far more tactical feel to it instead of being a beacon of light in the field during rescue missions.

As she started to pull the main armor piece over her head, a spirited voice called from the ramp leading to the cargo bay, “How you doing, love?”

With her head slightly stuck in the body of the suit she was trying to put on, she responded in a muffled voice, “Lena. If you wouldn’t mind lending me a hand?”

After a little giggle and whoop from the chronal accelerator on her chest, Lena blinked over and helped Angela shimmy her head through the collar of the suit. “Thank you, Lena.”

“Don’t mention it, love.” Lena lingered a moment, regarding Angela with an inquisitive look.

“Yes, Lena?” Angela was unsure if Lena could tell that she was a nervous wreck.

“This a new suit? Never seen it before.”

Not what she was expecting, but Angela figured Lena was avoiding making her feel more uncomfortable. Angela fastened a cobalt halo headband to her cowl. “It’s a modified prototype of the Valkyrie suit. Torbjorn and I had worked on it in the past to utilize on missions like this. Designed for more tactical operations. Not search and rescue. It’s mostly stripped of its stabilizing panels since the hover mode is pretty useless in such cases.”

“So can it fly like the other suit?”

“It can, but the lack of stabilizing panels makes slower flight speeds troublesome. Also,” she turned her back to Lena and flexed her back muscles so the wing panels deployed, “the impulse technology is stronger to make up for the lack of stable hover mode, so it’s blue instead of gold.”

Lena had a look of reverent awe on her face when Angela turned back around to face her.

“I’ll never get over how amazing that looks,” she chirruped with a smile.

Angela’s eyes turned down as she fussed over the suit a little. “Have to admit. It’s been a while since I did this.”

Lena put a comforting hand on Angela’s shoulder. “It’ll be just like old times.”

Angela raised her head and rested her hand on Lena’s. “Yeah. Just like old times.”

* * *

McCree and Genji settled into a narrow alleyway waiting for a clear opening to make a final approach to the evacuation point. Genji is perched on a landing directly above McCree as he leans up against a wall, chewing on the end of an unlit cigar to keep their position as undetectable as possible to the Talon patrols they have been dodging ever since leaving their stakeout apartment.

Slightly frustrated that he couldn’t light his cigar, McCree stuffed it in his pocket and looked up at Genji who was scanning the streets and rooftops through his cybernetic heads-up-display (HUD). He couldn’t track targets that were a long distance away, but if anyone got close enough, he’d have more than enough time to get them relocated before they were exposed.

“So,” McCree broke the silence, “how’s your brother?”

Genji twitched slightly and looked down at McCree. “Sorry?”

McCree tilted his head down again. “That’s why you went out the other night, ain’t it?”

“What makes you say that?” Genji struggled to hide the defensive tone in his voice.

“You think I didn’t notice the date?” McCree lowered his voice. “Hard to forget the anniversary of your fight.”

“How would _ you _ even know he’s alive?” The defensive tone grew.

“Call it a hunch.”

“A hunch?” Genji didn’t even try to hide the disbelief in his voice.

McCree raised his hands in surrender. “Alright. You got me. It’s pretty tough to miss all that graffiti all over the place.”

Genji paused a beat. “You can read it?”

McCree let a small laugh escape. “Some of it, but Athena helped me translate the rest.”

Genji sunk into the shadow of the alleyway. He wasn’t sure if he should feel embarrassed or slightly relieved that he didn’t have to keep his little side venture at Shimada Castle to himself. Ideally, Genji would have preferred to not engage Hanzo, but his older brother called out his presence before Genji could make a clean getaway. Whether it was morbid curiosity or pure hubris, Genji approached knowing Hanzo would instigate a fight. If it weren’t for his cybernetic body, Genji was certain his whole body would have been shaking uncontrollably. More out of the anxiety than anything else. He had not been that close to Hanzo in over ten years. He certainly could not have anticipated what he would actually feel when he was finally able to confront the man who nearly killed him.

“He doing alright?” McCree’s voice drew Genji back to the present.

Genji quickly tried to push his thoughts aside to answer McCree as calmly as possible.

“He’s alive.”

McCree clicked his tongue. “You didn’t rough him up too badly now, did you?”

“He is unharmed.”

“I see. Glad to hear it.”

Genji could almost hear the smile in McCree’s voice, and it sparked a little anger in the ninja. “Why do you care?”

McCree finally turned his head back up to Genji. “Just wondering. Needed to know you’re okay.”

“I’m fine,” Genji replied, giving “fine” a little bite.

McCree clearly picking it up responded, “You don’t sound ‘fine’.”

“I said, ‘_ I’m fine. _’” The sting in his voice rang clear.

McCree shrugged. “If you say so.” He straightened up, bringing his head slightly above the level of the landing Genji stood on, and patted the cyborg on the knee. “Let’s get moving.”

* * *

“Five minutes, agents,” reverberated Athena’s voice.

“Understood,” Lena stated. “Ready up, loves!” Angela and Echo gathered around the mission table in the shuttle as it sparked to life with a projection of a Tokyo Harbor. “Athena, if you would please bring up the extraction point hologram and scan for any potential threats in the area.”

“Extrapolating now.”

The hologram zoomed in on a seaside port slightly displaced away from the central harbor, mainly purposed for large cargo ships stacked with containers. Once the hologram was completely rendered, several small red points lit up across the map.

“There are several units spread out around the perimeter.”

Angela leaned forward onto the edge of the table and added her concerns, “Let’s hope those are just civilian security units and not Talon patrols.”

Lena asked, “Where are McCree and Genji?”

The hologram expanded slightly to show their location, a couple of klicks from the extraction point. “They are approaching the extraction point, but at a measured pace,” Athena answers. “They appear to be utilizing side streets and alleyways.”

Angela’s brow furrowed. “Then there must be some patrols they’re avoiding.”

Lena didn’t seem troubled. “As long as they remain undetected, I’m sure they’ll be fine.”

Angela shook her head. “I don’t like this.”

Echo looked at Angela. “What’s wrong?”

“I can’t explain it,” she replied, slightly chewing her lip. “And even if I could, I don’t think I can talk about it.” She shook her head again slightly as though working through some nerves. “Nevermind. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

Echo cast a quick worried look at Angela before turning back to the hologram. McCree and Genji’s trackers appeared to be moving faster. “It looks like they’ve increased their pace.”

Angela also turned her attention to their dots. “That’s not a good sign. Athena, can you scan for any movement around them?”

Athena’s voice hummed back, “The range of the shuttle’s sensors is not quite wide enough to reach them without satellite assistance, and without access to the closed security networks around them, I cannot see anyone around agents McCree and Genji unless the units in question are in direct line-of-sight of them.”

Angela chewed her lip a little harder and muttered under her breath, “Damn.”

A slight crackle broke into everyone’s comms.

“- is McCree. Anyone read?”

Echo almost jumped. “Yes, we read you!”

Angela hurriedly tried to assess the state of their health, “We noticed a change in your movement patterns. Is everything all right?”

There was more slight buzzing. “We picked up a tail. We’re gonna try to shake them before we rendezvous at the extraction point.”

“McCree, we’re minutes out!” Angela sharply replied. “We don’t have time for that!”

“Just keep the engine running. McCree out.”

“_McCree! _”

Echo redirected her attention to analyzing a solution, “Athena, is it possible to remain undetected if we circle the immediate area?”

“We cannot avoid raising suspicion if we linger in the area for longer than a few minutes.” Athena pulled the hologram out even further to display a stretch of open water around the port and lit up an indicator over a common trajectory that cargo ships used to travel into the harbor. “There is the option to hover above the water’s surface at a pace similar to that of a standard sea vessel. That would require us to stay a fair distance from shore to avoid contact from the local coastal services. However, that would increase our window of approach to give McCree and Genji the time they need to reach the extraction point safely.”

Lena nodded. “Roger that. Taking her as low as I can.”

Echo followed up with another question to Athena, “What if we raise any alarms before we can extract McCree and Genji?”

“After detection, local authorities will take only minutes to respond. Talon, presumably much faster,” concluded Athena matter-of-factly.

Angela exchanged glances with Echo and muttered lowly, “As I said before, I don’t like this.”

The next several minutes were nothing but tense and awkward silence. To Angela, they felt like hours. Her eyes stayed fixed on the clock as the adjusted predetermined mission timer ticked lower. The timer hit 10 minutes, when Angela stood up again, agitated.

“We’re running out of time.”

Athena pinged a proximity alert. “Agents McCree and Genji are on their final approach.”

“All right, loves! Hang on!” Lena acknowledges.

The shuttle engines hummed loudly as the shuttle began to ascend its usual altitude. As they closed in on the extraction point, the crack of a sniper round cut through the air. Angela’s heart dropped.

In a panic, she shouted into her comm, “McCree! Genji! Respond!”

McCree’s voice buzzed back, “We’re pinned down by a sniper, and we have a squad coming in hot on our tail. We’re trapped.”

Genji offered a risky solution. “The squad is inconsequential if we could neutralize the sniper. I can handle the sniper, but that leaves McCree exposed.”

“Extrapolating positions.” Athena calculated the source of the sniper shot.

Lena checked the hologram projected next to her seat in the cockpit. “We can’t get to them from this position.”

“Can you change your angle of approach?” Angela impatiently asked.

“Not quickly enough to keep from alerting the local authorities,” Lena called over her shoulder as she continued piloting the shuttle on its current course.

“I would advise against engaging either adversary head-on,” Athena recommended.

Lena gave a suggestion, “I could drop and distract the sniper while Mercy assists McCree and Genji.”

Angela shook her head, “We need you to pilot the shuttle. There’s no telling what will happen if we encounter resistance.”

“Mercy is correct,” confirmed Athena.

“Damn!” Lena cursed under her breath.

Angela turned to Echo. “One of us will have to intercept.”

Echo almost nodded, but her expression fell. “Wait. Why only one of us?”

“We’ll draw too much attention if we both go in to assist.”

“Draw attention…” Echo mused. “Maybe we can use that to our advantage.”

“How exactly-”

McCree’s voice crackled into the conversation angrily, “We’re sitting ducks! Get a move on!”

Feeling an increasing dread in her gut, Angela clutched her staff and tensed up her shoulders, which in turn caused her wings to shudder and spark slightly. The spark reminded her of something new she had developed with this suit, but never field-tested. It would amplify her flight speed and allow her to provide support to her team at greater distances. Would the increased flight speed be enough to allow her to outmaneuver a sniper? It was risky. Too risky.

However, perhaps Echo was onto something. If they could draw the sniper’s attention. Impair her vision...

“I have an idea,” she declared.

* * *

“Agents McCree and Genji,” Athena hailed. “Hold position. Support is inbound.”

“Support?” McCree asked only to receive no response.

The cowboy and ninja could only trade confused glances.

After the shuttle made it to the apex of its intended trajectory, the hatch opened, and Angela stepped to the edge of the ramp, gripping her staff in her left hand and blaster in her right. Blue hardlight formed into a visor over her eyes, and her HUD blinked to life on it.

“Ready,” Angela signaled to Athena.

Echo slid into the co-pilot seat. “Ready.”

Athena began her count, “Commence drop in 3. 2. 1.”

Angela tipped forward and let gravity do the rest.

Athena initiated a second sequence. “Drop flares.”

Lena hit a switch that dropped flare cartridges from the underside of the shuttle.

Athena counted down again, “Ignition in 3. 2. 1.”

The flares ignited and released an intense blinding light, obscuring the winged silhouette falling from the shuttle from anyone in the vicinity.

Angela activated the Valkyrie overdrive on her suit and made a B-line for the rooftop Athena indicated as the sniper’s roost. With the flares still brightly burning behind her, Angela could clearly spot the sniper perched on a rooftop adjacent to McCree and Genji’s location. She raised her blaster pistol and fired.

The slender silhouette of the sniper leapt from her place and grappled away to another rooftop. Angela pursued her, pushing the sniper away from the two Overwatch agents now scrambling to another position far more defensible against a sniper and more suited for the two of them to disable the squad that was formerly in pursuit of them.

As the flare explosion dissipated, Angela lost track of the sniper. Her HUD picked up nothing. She lingered a moment in the sniper’s previous spot to make sure the area was clear. However, she failed to notice the black mist gathering behind her. The mist solidified into a hooded figure and grabbed Angela from behind, dragging her down to the nearest rooftop below.

“That’s enough, Doc.”

The shadow’s voice was hollow and gravelly, and yet, something about it struck a familiar tone that Angela had heard before. However, before Angela got the chance to ponder what she heard, two arrows impaled the shadow in the back. The shadow reeled in pain and dissipated. Before Angela could get her wits about her, she felt two more arrows sail by her face and, after a moment, heard glass shattering. Scurrying heels and then a grappling hook alerted Angela to the fact that even though the arrow came so dangerously close to her head, it was intended for someone else entirely. She turned around where the sound of the shattered glass came from but saw nothing. The sniper was already long gone.

Angela shook herself back to the present and used the last seconds of her Valkyrie overdrive to fly over to where McCree and Genji had settled.

McCree whistled softly as she landed. “That was quite the risk to take, Doc.”

“Save it for later!” she admonished. “We need to move now!”

Athena marked a vacant jetty nearby that would be the ideal spot for Lena to pick them up, and the three of them took off. However, just as they were about to clear the stacks of containers and reach the dock itself, Athena pinged them with an alert.

“Talon dropship inbound.”

Echo signaled an additional warning to them, “We don’t have the firepower to fight them ship-to-ship.”

“Don’t look like you have to worry about that just yet,” McCree replied, as the Talon ship bore down on his position. “They’re coming right at us.”

Lena saw the dropship heading directly for the dock where the three on the ground were falling back and watched in horror as the side doors opened to reveal a full squad armed to the teeth ready to drop down on her friends.

“Get out of there now!” She turned the shuttle down toward the docks.

Genji and McCree braced themselves for an ensuing fight. Angela held her staff ready.

Everything around them fell quiet.

After a few uneasy moments, the silence was broken by a low rumble…

“_ Ryuu ga _-”

Angela froze. Flashes of a Japanese man with long sleek hair sparked in her mind. Angry looks. Dismissive glances. Stubborn words. Suddenly, they melted away to images of soft light blue fabric. Pink sakura blossoms…

“_ \- waga teki o kurau! _”

… And then blood.

A massive roar erupted from behind the three of them.

Lena shouted, “What the bloody hell is that?!”

Twin blue spirit dragons spiraled through the Talon dropship disabling all the agents inside. One imminent threat gone, only giving way to another. The ship began to lose control and veer off to the side, rapidly descending toward the containers below, directly behind where Genji, McCree, and Angela had stopped. Genji and McCree were already on the move to clear the impact area of the crashing ship.

McCree turned back and noticed that Angela had not budged an inch.

“_ MERCY! _” he cried out.

The images faded from her vision, and she finally noticed that a dropship was careening straight at her. She activated her wings to fly to McCree. Unfortunately, she underestimated how much the stabilizing panels allowed her to control the direction of her flight. The stronger impulses gave her more speed, but she had far less control. Now the ship was too close for her to deviate her path and avoid hitting it head-on.

She felt the chill of imminent death and almost laughed at the irony of the situation. It seemed only fitting that it would end this way for her. Playing the hero. A guardian angel. Now her wings were clipped.

She braced herself…

… And took a hit from the side.

_ Hard. _

Not as hard as she expected, but still hard enough that she got the wind knocked out of her. An instant later, she felt a second impact on her back accompanied by a loud splash that took the last of any breath she might have had left out of her lungs. She could see someone was floating above her. The person - a man - pulled in close, but she didn’t recognize his face.

She gasped for air but couldn’t breathe, the water around her got darker and colder.

She could feel herself slipping.

Finally, the world went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've got a few more chapters that are technically ready to be posted, but since I have a habit of trying to proofread everything I write many many many times before letting other people beta-read and then proofread it a couple more times and THEN think about posting... I need to pace myself posting chapters to let me have enough buffer to get comfortable with the other chapters that follow. I'll try to get a new chapter up every one-two weeks.


	4. Ch. 3 - A Ghost from the Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A short glimpse into the past...

## Chapter 3: A Ghost from the Past

Angela had always found herself having to take care of Genji’s injuries. It had seemed that Hanzo always aimed to put Genji through his paces, and this day was no different. Angela tended to Genji after a particularly rough training session with Hanzo. Genji bit down hard on the towel that was placed between his teeth as Angela reset his dislocated shoulder.

“I’ve seen hardened soldiers take that far less smoothly than you did just now,” Angela remarked.

Letting the towel drop from his teeth, Genji smiled weakly and quipped, “This is not the first time I have dislocated a shoulder.”

Angela pointed to the mended gashes on his arms and legs. “And those?”

“Also, not the first time.”

Angela frowned.

“It is part of our training.” He took the towel that was now resting on his collar and wiped away whatever sweat lingered from his spar with Hanzo. “What kind of ninjas would we become if we only used wooden sticks?” he tried to joke.

Angela’s frown fell further. “You two are going to kill each other.” She turned and walked over to her medical cabinet.

A half-hearted laugh puffed from Genji’s chest. “I think my brother is more likely to kill me than the other way around.”

“That’s not funny.” She shot a glare back over her shoulder to him.

“Sorry,” he apologized, bowing his head.

After a thoughtful moment, she scolded, “You hold back too much when you train.”

Genji blinked in surprise.

“Don’t give me that look. It’s not that hard to tell.” She returned to him, unfolding the arm sling she procured from her cabinet. Placing the sling over his head, she continued, “You always deviate your strikes away from critical areas. He doesn’t even have to try to deflect them.”

Genji swallowed hard.

“You must know if even I can tell, he most certainly can, too, right?” She guided his hand through the sling. “You must also realize that he will find that insulting, right?”

He scratched around the back of his neck with his free hand. “We’re not often under the scrutiny of our instructors. So I prefer to not actually harm my brother.”

“A noble sentiment, but I doubt he sees it the same way.” Still frowning, Angela returned to her cabinet for a biotic emitter.

“What is that?” Genji asked.

As she removed the cylinder from its vacuum packaging, she explained, “This is a biotic emitter. It’s an application of nanotechnology I developed that speeds healing.” She placed the emitter on the table and flipped the switch on.

“Does that mean I will be able to train tomorrow?” Genji sounded hopeful, but there was a mix of disappointment in there as well.

_ How can he sound hopeful and disappointed at the same time? _ Angela pondered before answering. “Absolutely not. I’m not a miracle worker.”

He dropped his chin to the side, as if he were trying to hide his face from her.

“I’ll deliver the news to your brother.”

When he did not turn back to her, she shrugged and walked out of the room to the one across the dojo floor. Upon opening the doors, she saw Hanzo reclined in his traditional bath, back facing the door.

“Okay, Shimada. I’m here to -”

Hanzo interrupted, “Will _ he _ be able to train tomorrow?”

Angela rolled her eyes and crossed her arms across her chest since he did not even bother to turn around. _ He has a name, you insufferable man. _ “No. _ Genji _ will need a few days.”

“_A few days? _” He continued unmoving.

She could feel irritation crawling up her spine. “Yes, a few days. I don’t want to run the risk of aggravating his shoulder.”

He huffed disapprovingly. “Very well. Please tend to his injury. You will not need to report for my physical examinations until he is recovered.”

She quirked a brow. “You’re not going to train in his absence?”

He turned his head slightly to look over his shoulder. “I will continue to train, but I do not require the extra precautions against anyone other than Genji. He is the only one skilled enough to push me to need the extra scrutiny.”

She untucked one arm from the other and waved it generally in his direction. “So, I presume you don’t ‘need’ your exam right now?”

“I will not require one tonight.” He turned his head away to return to his previous position.

Angela kept her place, nonplussed by the response.

Aware that she is still in the room, he added, “Is there a problem, Doctor Ziegler?”

Clearly expressing her annoyance even if he does not see it, she stated, “No. Not at all.” She turned on her heel and exited the room.

* * *

Angela gasped as she woke in a panic, spitting up a decent amount of water as well.

“Whoa, easy there!”

She turned to see McCree looking down at her with a relieved expression on his face.

“Jesse…” Angela sat up and took note she was back in the shuttle. Everyone was up and about the interior. She could see the lights of Tokyo fading in the distance through the viewport. Her soaked clothes made a chill run down her spine, and it took her a moment to recall that she fell into the water before blacking out. Aside from that, Angela couldn’t remember what happened after she saw the Talon dropship fly into view.

“You had us worried there a spell,” said McCree, drawing her attention back to him. He brushed an errant hair out of her face. “You okay?”

“I think so,” she answered, pushing her damp hair back. “Was anyone seriously injured?” she added in a worried tone.

McCree’s face dropped. He turned to look over his shoulder where Genji and Echo were. Upon further inspection, Angela noticed that they were hovering over someone laid out on the bench on the other side of the shuttle. Angela immediately got up and rushed over to them almost slipping on the water that pooled below her seat.

“Angie, wait!” McCree called after her.

As she approached, she could see the unknown passenger was a man. She noticed most of his clothing was traditional Japanese garb, but his feet were wrapped in curious combat boots. From his profile, she didn’t recognize him. All she could tell is that he’s an older man, perhaps a little older than herself…

“Who’s this-”

… Until she caught a glimpse of his left arm and the dragon tattoo running from his left pectoral all the way down his arm.

“W-what is _ he _doing here?”

Genji turned to Angela. “We’re helping him with his injuries.”

“But what is he doing _ here? _”

He paused uneasily before continuing. Did she not remember what happened? “He risked his life to bring you back to the ship. We couldn’t just leave him. Echo and Athena managed to stabilize him, but he lost a lot of blood. Fortunately, he didn’t lose consciousness until after we had a biotic emitter running, but he hasn’t woken up since.”

Angela backed away, shaking her head in disbelief.

“He shouldn’t be here…”

Genji tried to calm her down. “Angela…”

She turned and all but ran to the back of the shuttle to sit in a corner alone.

“Angela?”

* * *

“What do you mean he can’t stay?!” Genji shouted at Winston. “He saved the team!”

Winston dropped his head into his hand. “I’m not discrediting his actions, but how do we know we can trust him?”

“I trust him!” Genji shouted more in the heat of the moment than truly believing in the words of his own response.

Winston raised an eyebrow in severe doubt. “Genji… We don’t know what his motives are right now,” Winston tried to rationalize.

“He’s clearly against Talon.”

“That doesn’t make him our ally.”

“He nearly died saving Angela!”

Winston heaved a sigh. “I’m not saying we won’t help him recover. It’s the least we can do. However, we’re already stretched thin on resources just to keep this facility running. We can’t house another person who may be a liability. Once he’s recovered, I think it's in the best interest of everyone here that he leaves.”

Genji refused to leave Winston with the upper hand in the argument. “And if he were to show interest in joining our cause?”

Winston’s brows stretched upward as far as they could. After blinking a few times unbelievingly, Winston concluded the conversation, “We’ll talk about that if the situation arises.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short and sweet. Maybe hints of plot-itis... There will be more substantial chapters to come.


	5. Ch. 4 - Long Recovery Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hanzo and Angela finally exchange their first words in ten years...

## Chapter 4: Long Recovery Time

_ With the… unfortunately destructive conclusion to our reconnaissance of the Hanamura area, we need to go dark until tension dies down in Japan. UN forces have been scouring the area for both Talon and Overwatch presence alike. Once it’s confirmed we’re in the clear, then we will reinstate assignment of missions, most likely to be elsewhere in the world when the time comes. In the meantime, I hope you all are able to find something to occupy your time. _

Winston’s message left the team at a loss for what to do. Most of them were used to keeping busy with missions or traveling. Eventually, they made do with whatever was available around the base. Reinhardt and Brigitte started a vegetable garden next to the comm tower. Winston tinkered with the security drones and other gadgets around the base. Mei and Echo would assist him in the lab as they took care of their own projects that they felt would help out around the base. Echo helped with surveillance. Mei looked into studying all the climate data she brought with her from Ecopoint: Antarctica.

Winston had also reconnected with Torbjörn who would send in supplies when he could from off base. McCree put himself to work on helping with the maintenance and repair of structures around the base outside of the more advanced machinery. Lena, Genji, and Zenyatta would lend a hand around with everything they could.

Unlike the others, Angela fell back into the same routine she had since she returned to Overwatch, with one exception.

* * *

Hanzo slowly opened his eyes to the blurry sight of fluorescent lights and hospital curtains. A dull ache in his right side nudged him further out of his stupor. As he tried to raise his hands to his face, he found that his wrists were bound to the bed frame. Raising his head off his pillow, he tried to get a better look at where he was. The curtains essentially blocked sight of anything else in the room. His bow and quiver were nowhere in sight. Once his vision cleared a little more, he could make out the shape of a person’s shadow being cast onto the curtain from the other side.

“Is someone there?” he barely managed to say aloud.

The shadow’s head snapped upward. There was a drawn-out pause before a hand pulled back the curtain and the shadow stepped forward, golden hair reflecting a dull glow from the lights above. Hanzo didn’t need his complete vision to know exactly who it was.

“An- Doctor Ziegler,” he said softly.

“Shimada,” Angela addressed him, keeping her eyes lowered to avoid looking him in the eye.

“Where am I?” he asked.

She closed her eyes and absent-mindedly waved a hand to the side. “A formerly abandoned Overwatch facility.”

Already feeling strain on his neck, he dropped his head back onto his pillow. “How long was I unconscious?”

Angela raised her datapad, adjusting her glasses as she looked down at it. “About a day. I have to say that I’m relieved you’re awake, considering the condition you were in.”

“My… condition?” Hanzo recalled getting struck in the side but didn’t think he had been so severely injured, especially since he can recount other instances where he’s felt infinitely worse the morning after a battle.

“Laceration to the lower right abdomen, which required stitching and resulted in severe blood loss, and blunt force trauma to the lower back. Aside from the injuries I just described, are you currently experiencing any other pain or discomfort?”

He shook his head. “No, I do not believe so.”

She nodded, still keeping her eyes down. “Severe as your injuries were, you’ll make a full recovery.”

“That is good to hear.” Hanzo felt his vision starting to clear and turned his eyes to look in Angela’s direction.

_ She keeps looking down... _

“You’ll have to stay here on bed rest for two more days while I treat you with synth-rocytes.”

“‘Synth-rocytes’?”

“A nanotech I developed to mimic red blood cells in case no blood transfusions are available. We have nothing in cold storage here, so I had no choice but to use them until your blood count had restored itself naturally. It doesn’t always work in extreme cases like yours, but you were very fortunate it did. Consequently, this results in longer recovery times that can’t be drastically accelerated with biotic technology.”

_ She refuses to look at me. _

“I see,” he answered, his voice barely audible. He turned his head to the side as an ache formed in his chest.

“After your required bed rest, you’ll be assigned to a schedule of light physical therapy, mostly walking and some stretching, until your sutures are removed. Expect to feel fatigued for a while, potentially even after you are fully recovered. Then I will decide what other precautions need to be taken should they be required.”

“I understand.” The answer came involuntarily.

“Would you like me to send Genji here with your dinner in a few hours?”

“That would be agreeable.” He turned his eyes in Angela’s general direction and stifled a sigh.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see her nod. “Very well. I would advise getting some more sleep.” She slipped out almost before she even finished her sentence.

He felt the ache swell in his chest.

* * *

Some hours later, Genji entered the lab with a tray of food. Hanzo had barely budged, having spent most of that time staring at the ceiling.

“Did you get any more sleep?” Genji asked in Japanese.

Hanzo turned his head to Genji and noticed he was dressed in a hoodie and loose pants.

“No,” Hanzo replied in his native tongue. He was about to ask about Genji’s clothes until he realized that Genji had been running around undressed the whole time. He decided it would be best to banish the image from his mind.

“That’s unfortunate.” Genji placed the tray over Hanzo’s legs and began to remove the restraints from Hanzo’s arms.

Hanzo recoiled slightly. “What are you doing?”

“I’m not going to spoon-feed you,” Genji teased as he started undoing the restraint on Hanzo’s left arm, “and I’m sure you’d rather starve than let me do anything like that for you.”

Hanzo glowered. “And what if I attempt to kill you again?” As his left arm was freed, he rolled his wrist to loosen it up. He noticed a curious wristband fastened around it. 

Genji reached over to undo the other restraint. “You had a few opportunities before that you didn’t take advantage of, so I presume that I can trust you enough to not murder us all in cold blood. Besides, I’m pretty sure I can easily take you in your current state.” Genji finished undoing the other restraint and adjusted Hanzo’s bed so he could sit upright to eat. 

Before looking at the food in front of him, Hanzo raised his left hand to bring the wristband to Genji’s attention. “What is this?”

“It’s a security band to track your vitals, location, and to ping an alert to everyone if you’re too close to a restricted area.” Genji stood upright and finished off with a touch of amusement in his voice, “It will also stun you if you enter a restricted area.”

“Hmph.” Hanzo hardly gave any other reaction and stared down at the bowl in front of him. “What is this?”

“Chicken stew. Angela wanted to make sure you had food that was easy to digest and mild in flavor,” Genji elaborates. After Hanzo’s bed was set, he pulled up a stool and took a seat before continuing. “Also, she wants you to eat slowly, to make sure your body doesn’t reject it. She said it was unlikely, but she also said ‘better to be safe than sorry’.” Genji shrugged his shoulders before reaching back for the trashcan and pulling it up next to the bed.

Hanzo shifted uncomfortably at Genji’s casual use of Angela’s name. He eyed the cup of pills next to the stew and pointed to it. “And this?”

Genji tilted his head slightly. “Iron supplements to take after you’re sure you won’t vomit up your dinner… or after you’ve already done so.”

Hanzo grumbled lowly to himself.

Genji pointed at the little paper cup. “I’d take them unless you want to explain to Angela why you didn’t.”

Hanzo winced slightly at the sound of Genji saying her name again. He reluctantly picked up the spoon and put it in the bowl, pushing the contents around rather than getting ready to eat it.

“Not hungry?” Genji leaned forward, to get a better look at Hanzo’s face.

Hanzo lowered the spoon into the bowl. “She could not even look at me.”

“Angela?”

He almost winced again. “I should have expected as much,” Hanzo sighed and turned his face away from Genji.

In as consoling a tone as he can, Genji said, “Just give her some time.”

Stubborn as ever, Hanzo closed his eyes and stated adamantly, “Time will never make my past actions any less reprehensible.”

Genji covered his face in frustration. “You need to learn to forgive yourself before you can expect anyone to forgive you.”

“Do not lecture me, Genji,” Hanzo snapped back.

The cyborg sighed in capitulation. “Fine. At least eat your dinner while it’s still warm - _ slowly_.”

The archer begrudgingly took his first bite. “It is bland.”

Genji made no effort to hide the cheeky tone in his reply, “Yeah well, that’s all you’re getting.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hit a bump in the road with rereading subsequent chapters. There will need to be some rewrites. I hope I can get the next chapters up at a reasonable pace.


	6. Ch. 5 - An Invitation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flashback to a time when things were simpler... With a splash of the present reality.

##  Chapter 5: An Invitation

Approximately half a year had passed since Angela had been dispatched to Hanamura, and she had settled in surprisingly well. By now, the staff around the castle grounds had grown accustomed to her and almost treated her as one of their own. The female staff had especially taken quite a liking to her, helping her find everything she needed to be as comfortable as she desired to be. Genji also extended as much help to her as he could and invited her along to his social outings with his friends. She accepted a few invitations until Genji had unintentionally arranged a double date… with Hanzo. The reason for this mishap was that the rest of Genji’s friends had canceled due to receiving an urgent work call. The evening ended awkwardly, and Angela made sure to double-check with Genji beforehand about who would be attending any future gatherings she was invited to.

Contrary to the popular opinion around Shimada Castle, the elders held strong reservations against Angela’s presence. They did not trust Angela and openly expressed it to Hanzo almost daily (and Genji, if he ever decided to be present at meetings). After yet another particularly tiring meeting with the elders, Megumi, one of the maids who directly tended to the young Shimada masters, delivered a message to Hanzo, asking him to come to Genji’s room at his earliest convenience.

“Welcome, young master.”

Megumi slid the paper door open to let Hanzo into Genji’s room. She stepped aside and knelt on the floor.

“Genji. What did you call me here for?” Hanzo grumbled as he stepped forward, half stomping the tatami mat.

Genji rolled over groaning in his bed. When he spoke, his voice was raspy, clearly coming down with something.

“I need to ask you a favor,” he coughed.

Hanzo folded his arms across his chest and grimaced. “I believe I have done enough favors for you.”

Genji sat up slightly with some difficulty. “This is important. Please, _Anija_.”

Hanzo rolled his eyes. “What is it?”

“I promised Angela that I would take her to the sakura orchard at _Kawaguchiko_ tomorrow, around _Ubuyagasaki_ Shrine. Can you take her instead?”

Hanzo frowned. “You should have thought about that before you went and got yourself sick off some disease-infested drunk at the bar last night.”

Genji said wryly, “Of course you would have no remorse when I am sick.”

“Take her yourself after you have recovered.” Hanzo turned to leave.

“I had uncle reserve the lakeside orchard and  _ ochaya _ tomorrow. I doubt I can convince him to do that again during this  _ Hanami _ .” 

Hanzo stopped and turned back around to face Genji. “You requested to reserve the busiest part of the orchard. During  _ Hanami _ . Are you insane?”

Genji gave a laugh that sounded more like a cough. “You only realize that now?”

Hanzo’s expression turned angry.

Genji laughed again. “Come on, _Anija_. You used to love  _ Hanami _ .”

Hanzo broke eye contact and glared off to the side.

“You’re not busy tomorrow, right? I know you just had a meeting to prepare for the next week or so while everyone’s away, busy with their own families for  _ Hanami _ .”

Hanzo continued to glare at nothing in particular.

“You should take a break and relax a little. Angela is a really nice lady. You should try to get to know her better. I think you would like her company.”

At this, Hanzo fixed his glare back on Genji and almost sneered, “There is no point in getting to know Ang- Doctor Ziegler better. It is not in the best interest of the clan.”

A sly grin split Genji’s lips. “But what about your interests?”

Hanzo knew all too well where this is going.

“Angela is beautiful, kind, smart -”

“If you are so smitten with her, why do you not date her?”

Genji’s grin grew wider. “Come on, _Anija_. I’ve seen the way you look at her.”

Hanzo’s face distorted in shock and revulsion.

“When you think no one is watching.”

The slightest of pink tinges began blooming on Hanzo’s cheeks.

“I’ve seen how you glance over to her and let your eyes linger a little too long -”

Hanzo stomped his foot hard. “Enough!” Hanzo’s face turned a deep red.

Genji laid his head back down and sighed in disappointment.

Hanzo evened out his breathing, color fading from his face, and after a moment said, “Fine. I will do it, but only to prove you wrong in your assumptions.”

Hanzo stormed out of the room, but not before he caught the most shit-eating grin plastered on his younger brother’s face.

* * *

The cool early morning sea air felt pleasant on Genji’s face since he usually preferred to keep his mask on when he was in the company of others. He turned his visor over in his hands, staring through the neon green V-line rather than actually staring at it. How many times had he stared at it and couldn’t help but feel a little bitter about needing to wear it? By now, the bitterness had faded, but he still went through this routine out of habit.

Now that Hanzo had woken up, it had finally dawned on Genji just how clueless he was about trying to approach his brother again without putting up a front of confidence with sarcasm and humor. His anxiety levels were through the roof when he had brought Hanzo dinner the day before. On top of that, Genji had to plot out some way to ask his older brother to join Overwatch in order to give Winston and the rest of the team a reason to let Hanzo stay as long as possible. Genji screwed up his face and let out a tired sigh.

“All right up there, Genji?”

Genji turned to look down to see McCree staring up at his perch.

“McCree.”

McCree gestured to Genji, beckoning him down. “Got a minute?”

The cyborg quickly put his visor back on and pulled his hood up before leaping down from the small outcropping he had been seated on.

“You know you don’t need to cover up your face around me,” McCree remarked as Genji approached.

“I feel more comfortable this way.”

“If you say so.” McCree took a puff from his cigar before taking it in his hand and holding it at his side. “Been meaning to ask you something.”

Genji folded his arms across his chest. “What is it?”

McCree held an irregularly long pause while he stared unblinkingly. After what felt like a few minutes, McCree finally asked, “Why’d you want to bring your brother here?”

Genji had been expecting this question from someone at some point. He just didn’t expect it to come from McCree. Backing up slightly, Genji took a seat on a box nearby and stared at the ground.

“I have to make this right,” he answered cryptically.

McCree raised a brow. “Make what right and for who exactly?”

“Make things right between my brother and me.” Genji tilted his head up slightly to gauge McCree’s reaction.

McCree took another puff of his cigar. “That kind of thing takes time, and your brother would need to, you know, actually meet you halfway.”

“You think I don’t know that?” Genji abruptly turned his gaze back down to the ground.

McCree shrugged. “Just saying.”

Genji turned his face back up McCree and grumbled, “You can’t tell me that there isn’t something you’ve done wrong that you wish with all your heart you could fix.”

Nodding, McCree stated, “Sure there is, but in my case, I know there ain’t anything I can do about it.”

“But at least you can understand what I’m trying to do.”

McCree put his cigar to his lips again. “I suppose.” After releasing another cloud of smoke, he added, “Overwatch always has been a place to get a fresh start and all, but things are a little different now. Just saving our team once probably ain’t really going to cut it in his case.”

Genji let his head hang forward again and let out a long sigh. “You’re probably right.”

McCree grinned slightly. “Ain’t too many times that I am, but I try to make them count.”

After another silent moment had settled, Genji punctuated it by asking, “Did Angela ever tell you about what happened?”

“Not exactly,” McCree replied. “I read the mission report, but I’m guessing you’re referring to some of the finer details. You know I didn't exactly witness the event.”

Genji twisted his foot into the ground. “Would you believe that the reason my brother and I fought was Angela?”

McCree sputtered as he choked on the cigar smoke he just inhaled. “W-what?!”

* * *

Angela was performing her early morning routine around the med lab when the occupant in the corner started to make audible wincing noises in his sleep. She tried to ignore him and focus on her work until she heard him mutter Genji’s name loud enough for her to hear clear across the lab. Approaching her patient’s bedside, she could see Hanzo was still asleep but suffering from a nightmare. He was fidgeting and covered in a cold sweat. She took hold of his shoulders and tried to give him a firm shake to wake him.

“Shimada,” she called aloud to him. “Shimada, wake up.”

Instead of waking, he started to shake and muttered even louder. She couldn’t understand most of what he said until he clearly said her name aloud, “Angela…”

The sound of her name made her back away. The instant she pulled her hand completely away from him, he shook himself awake, and his eyes snapped open.

In his waking panic, he repeated her name louder, “Angela!” It took a few startled gasps for him to become aware of his surroundings and notice Angela was standing next to him, but backing away slowly and staring at him with a startled expression. “D-Doctor Ziegler…”

“Shimada…” she started with an uneasy tone in her voice, diverting her eyes to the ground. “You were having a nightmare.”

He ran his hand over his forehead and through his hair. Closing his eyes and turning away from her, he murmured to himself repeatedly, “It was just a dream. It was not real.”

Angela felt a swell of empathy for him. She was all too familiar with being plagued by nightmares. “Do you need anything?” she asked tentatively.

He shook his head.

“Would you like me to call your brother over?”

He shook his head again.

She took a few more steps back and turned to leave.

“Actually, Doctor Ziegler…”

She turned to face him but kept looking down. “Yes, Shimada?”

“Could you ask Genji to come here and help me take a walk around the base?”

“Of course.” She quickly left his bedside and paged Genji on her comm.

Not even a few minutes passed before the cyborg ninja entered the lab and extended a cordial greeting with the doctor. After a brief exchange with her, Genji helped his brother roll out of bed and walked him out of the room with barely a word.

When she was certain she was finally alone, she sunk down to the floor and held her head in her hands.

“What am I doing…?” she muttered under her breath.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is going to be a very looooong flashback...


	7. Ch. 6 - Hanami

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So we join Hanzo and Angela on a little trip to the sakura orchard...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is much longer than I wanted it to be, but I wanted to keep the whole flashback condensed to one chapter... My apologies if it feels too drawn out. o_o

## Chapter 6: Hanami

One could say that years ago, Angela wouldn’t even bat an eye at anything Hanzo said or did. She had been around dangerous people for quite some time, so a Yakuza clan leader wasn’t too large of a step up on her list. There was once a time when their interaction could have even been deemed somewhat cordial, but no one would have been surprised to know that Angela and Hanzo did not start off on the right foot with each other. Angela did her best to keep things as brief as possible with Hanzo for both their sakes since Hanzo gave no sign of being interested in more than making sure she was doing her job. However, where Angela’s “relationship” with Hanzo was nonexistent, Angela had grown fond of Genji’s company. And so this morning, she was getting ready for a trip out to _ Ubuyagasaki _ to view the sakura with him.

A quiet knock came from the sliding door. Angela quickly answered anticipating Genji to be on the other side, only to be greeted by Megumi.

“Good morning, _ Ziegler-sensei _,” she chirruped, a calm smile resting on her face.

“Good morning, Megumi-san.” Wondering when Genji would be showing up, Angela asked, “Where’s Genji?”

“The young master has fallen ill. Young Master Hanzo has offered to take you to the orchard in his brother’s stead.”

Angela’s face went blank. “I’m sorry, Ha- his brother?”

Megumi continued to smile as she repeated herself, “Yes, Master Hanzo will accompany you to the sakura orchard today.”

Angela floundered for a reason to avoid spending the day with Hanzo. “I think it may be better if I see Genji and help treat his illness.”

Megumi’s smile faltered slightly. “It would be most improper to decline attending this arrangement for Hanami. You have already agreed to attend, have you not?”

“Yes, but I think as Genji’s attending medical physician -”

Megumi interrupted, “Young Master Genji is just in need of rest now. I insist you take the opportunity to go and view the sakura today.”

“I really don’t think -”

“_ Ziegler-sensei _. I insist.”

Angela finally noticed two more maids who were standing off to the side and realized what was coming. _ Wonderful… I'm going to get stuffed into an uncomfortable outfit _…

“Can you at least take some of my immune boosters to Genji?”

The calm smile returned to Megumi’s face. “Of course.”

Angela retreated to her medical kit and grabbed a small bottle of caplets. She handed it over to Megumi who took it politely and exited, signaling the rest of the maids to file in and eliciting a quiet groan from Angela.

* * *

Hanzo stood waiting outside of the door to Angela’s room. He tightly clasped his hands behind his back, kept his eyes shut, and furrowed his face in thought.

_ This was a bad idea. Why did I agree to this? What on earth am I trying to prove? Doctor Ziegler most certainly does not like me. Genji is delusional to think this is going to go well at all. _

His thoughts continued along this thread until the door slid open to reveal Angela’s back to him, dressed up in a complete kimono. His eyes were immediately drawn to the back of her collar that was pulled down to show off the nape of her neck framed with soft blonde curls. Her hair pulled up and adorned with decorative flower pins. His eyes slowly dragged downwards, taking in the silk fabric that hugged Angela’s shoulders, cinched in around her waist, gracefully draped down her arms, flowed over her hips, and trailed down almost brushing the floor. The base of the kimono was white decorated with deep red floral patterns and falling sakura petals. Hanzo was about to ponder the decision to invest such a large sum on a _ kimono _ of such limited use when Angela finally turned around, with an expression of barely contained discomfort, but looking radiant nonetheless. Her face was made up so her eyes were shadowed just enough to look dramatic, but not overdone. Her cheekbones were shaded with a blush that complimented her kimono, and her lips were painted a natural pink to brighten them up to match her blush.

The maids took in Hanzo’s expression and smiled at each other. One of them handed a small handbag to Angela, and then they both bowed and filed out of the room.

Hanzo remained frozen, staring at Angela to the point where she made a noise of discomfort before she finally spoke, breaking him out of his daze.

“Good morning?” she said awkwardly.

He snapped out of his stupor and replied stiffly, “Good morning, Doctor Ziegler.”

An uncomfortable silence settled between them again for a moment. On Hanzo’s part, he could not push his mind past taking in the sight of Angela. On Angela’s part, she rarely had words for Hanzo outside of his physical examinations other than exasperated sighs.

Finally, he managed to say, “You look lovely.”

She dipped her chin and tried to at least give a small smile. “Er. Thank you.”

He took a step back to give her room to exit. “I have a car waiting for us at the gate. Shall we depart?”

Angela very carefully stepped down to where her _ zori _ were set by the maids beforehand and slipped her feet into them. As she stepped across the threshold to the path just outside her door, Hanzo extended his arm to her. She stared at it with a confused expression on her face.

Hanzo elaborated, “You appear to have some trouble walking in that kimono. I understand how difficult it can be to walk with your legs restricted in that manner.”

She teetered a moment as she hooked her hand around his arm, taking note of the faintest vanilla aroma. She stifled a snicker and responded, smirking, “So does that mean you’ve actually worn one of these?”

His eyebrows knitted together, and he replied flatly, “No.”

So much for trying to break the ice. Her smirk fell, and she turned her attention away from him, toward her feet to make sure her feet didn’t get caught on any uneven spots along the walkway, and they continued slowly walking past the zen garden to the gate where a car was waiting for them.

Realizing Angela meant nothing malicious by her comment, Hanzo tried to save himself with an explanation, “My mother once struggled with walking in kimonos as well.”

She turned her attention back to Hanzo with a confused expression on her face again.

“One day, during my calligraphy lesson, she told me a story of when she was a little girl.” A small bittersweet smile crept up the corners of his mouth. “She was running near a koi pond in her favorite kimono. As she ran, her foot caught a stone, and she could not regain her balance because of how the kimono was wrapped around her legs. Unfortunately, she fell into the koi pond, ruining her favorite kimono. She said she never ran wearing a kimono again.”

Angela’s face fell again slightly at Hanzo’s little story. It was the first time she had ever heard him talk about a member of his family fondly. A pinch from the _ obi _ around her waist snapped her back to the present.

Hanzo immediately noticed her discomfort. “Is something the matter?”

She tried to keep a straight face. “The - uh... sash?” She gestured to her waist.

“That is called an _ obi _.”

“_ Obi _ … The _ obi _ is too tight. I can hardly breathe.”

He brought them to a halt and stepped up in front of Angela.

“W-what are you doing?” she stammered.

“It is not the  _ obi _ that is too tight.” Hanzo slipped the lower edge of  _ obi  _ and  _ datejime _ (the smaller sash under the obi) up so he could clearly see the  _ koshi himo _ (cords meant to hold the fabric of the kimono in place) just above Angela’s waist. He then adjusted the knot to loosen the cord and let the fabric decompress. As he straightened the front of her  _ obi _ again and took a turn around her to check the bow on her back, he caught a familiar fragrance. A light sakura scent from a lotion that he recalled his mother used before. He conjectured the maids had done this intentionally as they knew he favored it, and he just quietly sighed in exasperation before turning his attention back to the matter at hand.

“Are you able to breathe easier?” he asked Angela.

His breath softly touched the bare part of her neck, and she tensed a moment before taking a fairly deep breath and slowly exhaling in relief. 

“Yes, thank you,” she answered quietly.

“The maids would kill me if they saw me do that.” Hanzo returned to Angela’s side and offered his arm once again.

“Why’s that?” Angela took his arm without hesitation this time, unable to keep herself from smiling, not that Hanzo had noticed as he seemed invested in looking at the path they were walking along.

“I am disrupting their handiwork.”

Angela raised her brows and smirked, “Is that all?”

“It is just improper. I should not have done it.”

Her smile dropped, and she nodded blankly. “I see.” She was thinking about giving up on even trying to smile now.

Clearly aware that he was making this whole situation more awkward, Hanzo attempted to redirect the conversation. “I apologize for the maids being a bit overzealous. A kimono is supposed to be moderately comfortable to wear. However, there have been few other women for them to dote upon since my mother’s passing, and so they may have been trying too hard to make your silhouette look more like that of a doll's.”

If there was anything consistent about this exchange between Angela and Hanzo, it was how strange Hanzo’s sudden openness felt to Angela during this short walk. At a loss for how to respond, she tried to extend the topic at hand without inciting potentially damaged memories, “So your mother had to go through this on a daily basis?”

Hanzo glanced her way inquisitively. Angela met his gaze with a small smile. He reflexively smiled slightly as he turned away again, “Yes, and she took it in …stride.”

Angela smothered a giggle at Hanzo’s awkwardly timed pun.

Silence fell between them as they finished their walk to the car. Two of Hanzo’s usual guards were waiting with the door to the rear seat open. Hanzo led her up to the open door and extended his other hand to Angela. She looked at him with yet another puzzled expression on her face.

“Allow me to help you into the car,” Hanzo stated.

She unhooked her arm from his and took his extended hand. His palm was surprisingly smooth, but she could feel how firm the skin was from the calluses that had built up over the years. He helped her take a seat and then made his way to the other side as the first guard shut her door and the second opened the other door for Hanzo.

Once they were all seated in the car, Hanzo instructed the guard in the driver's seat in Japanese, “Take us to _ Ubuyagasaki _.”

* * *

The drive was longer than Angela expected. They passed rows upon rows of clustered buildings. While the Shimada castle grounds were fairly expansive within the Tokyo city limits, the surrounding area was densely populated, leaving barely enough room for the car they were seated in to comfortably pass through. Multistory buildings fitted together in an almost grid-like fashion, reminiscent of an old puzzle game where odd-shaped blocks had to be fitted together with as little wasted space as possible. She had started dozing when the car finally came to a stop. Angela could have sworn she heard a chuckle when she felt her head bob forward, but when she looked to her side, Hanzo had already turned his attention to the window, waiting for his guards to open the doors.

His door opened first, and he exited without a word. He quickly rounded the car as the other guard finally opened her door, and as he had done to help her get seated before, he extended a hand to her to help her out of the car.

“Thank you,” she said mechanically, as the whole situation was still sitting uncomfortably with her. Hanzo nodded and extended his arm to her yet again. She was starting to feel like she did during her first evening at Shimada Castle a few months ago, a stranger in a foreign land that showed no sign of accepting her. However, she let him lead her away from the car and to the path leading toward the orchard. 

She stopped in her tracks. “Wow…”

As her vision finally crested over the railing lining the side of the road, she was met with a sea of soft pink, gracefully waving in the gentle breeze, with a miraculous view of Lake _ Kawaguchiko _ and Mount Fuji behind. Nestled among the trees, Angela could make out the gate of a shrine. The Shimada castle grounds were already quite a sight to behold when the sakura began blossoming there, but they did not hold a candle to the orchard that stretched out before her.

He smiled at her reaction before turning around and instructed the guards in Japanese, “Stay with the car.”

The closer guard responded, “But, sir -”

Hanzo interrupted, “Stay with the car. There is no danger here. We will return when we are ready to leave.”

The guards stiffly bowed and returned to the car as instructed.

“My apologies for that,” Hanzo said quietly as they started their walk down the path toward the wall of pastel pink flowers.

Taking notice of the guards’ absence, Angela asked, “Are you ever without your guards?”

He shook his head slightly, “Almost never.”

“You don’t find that exhausting?” She slipped a hint of concern into her voice.

“It is their duty. As such, it is mine to uphold as well.”

_ Doesn’t seem worth it _ , she thought to herself and redirected the conversation. “So this… _ Hanami _ is an important tradition in Japan?”

“Yes,” Hanzo answered, and gestured out toward the pastel pink trees. “The blooming of the sakura was once used to divine the year’s harvest. The people believed that _ kami-sama_, our gods, who resided in the trees could bless the upcoming season, and so they brought offerings to them. Later, the transient nature of the flowers was regarded as a metaphor for life itself, beautiful yet fleeting. Now in the present, people come together with food and drink, aligning with the start of the new school year, usually for welcoming parties for the students or the people returning to work after vacation.”

Angela followed up with a question that was hovering in the back of her mind since the start of the day, “Is there a reason that I have to be dressed up like this?”

Hanzo actually smirked with his reply. “To be honest, no.”

She made an expression of annoyance mixed with exasperation. “You’ve got to be kidding me!”

He pressed his lips together to keep himself from laughing out loud.

“Great. Now I just feel awkward dressed like this,” she grumbled.

He held a hand over his mouth to suppress the sound of his chuckles. “Again, I apologize for the overzealousness of the maids, but I appreciate that you are dressed traditionally. It is an honorable action, and -” He lowered his voice, “- I would be lying if I said that you did not look -” He paused. “- that you did not look beautiful in that kimono,” he finished quickly under his breath.

Angela turned a surprised look on Hanzo as he turned his head away quickly. She could see the barest hint of flush building on his cheeks, which in turn started to make her very thankful that she already had blush on her face, or the pink on her cheeks would be all the more obvious.

She turned to look out over the sakura again, and inquired, “So this is usually a time for gathering together with friends and family for a party then.”

He looked over to her only to get a clear view of the back of her neck again, which also happened to be turning pink in response to his compliment, and immediately faced forward before replying, “Yes.”

“It sounds like a wonderful time.”

“It was.” Hanzo’s voice was wistful, with a hint of longing.

Angela felt a dreadful sense of discomfort crawling up her neck. Hanzo had never been this expressive, and she did not expect him to sound so sad when he finally did break his stoic facade. She desperately grabbed for strings that could steer the mood in a lighter direction. 

“So how does this work with just the two of us out here?”

“Pardon me?”

“You said that this is usually a time for people gathering for parties. It’s just us two here at the moment.”

“Oh, I have arranged a tea ceremony for us.”

“Tea ceremony? You mean where we sit on the floor and drink tea in a really specific way?”

Hanzo barely contained a laugh. “Yes, a tea ceremony is something like that.”

Angela responded, making a face, “It’s not like these sorts of traditions are common in Switzerland.”

He was still chuckling. “My apologies.”

His soft chuckles shook Angela down to her core. She had never felt all that fond of him. She thought he was handsome, but his cold exterior made it difficult to feel anything tender for him, which she was more than content with… until now. She could not help but feel an uncomfortable twist in her gut when he quieted his laughs and gave her a thoughtful smile. His smiles were something so rare to behold that she almost believed he was incapable of it.

“Simply follow my lead. You may find that you like it,” offered Hanzo.

Angela could only numbly nod in response.

* * *

They take a long and slow turn around the trees and down to the lake’s edge. The tea house sat on the shoreline, a quaint little wood and paper building frozen in time. The hostess was a small woman dressed in a simple kimono. She beamed brightly at the two of them as they approached and engaged Hanzo in a small conversation in Japanese. She kept nodding at Angela as they chatted, which unsettled her slightly. All the while, Hanzo was actually smiling the whole time they conversed. After she seemed satisfied, she disappeared into the little building. The two of them slowly followed.

“What was that all about?” Angela asked.

“She asked if you were my girlfriend.”

Her face dropped.

“I told her that you are my doctor, to which she immediately asked if I was sick. I told her no.” Hanzo grinned slightly. “She also said you are very pretty.”

Angela’s face flushed red immediately. Part of it was the compliment. The other was the smile on Hanzo’s face. Of course, she had seen him smile on previous days. Sort of. However, this time he looked genuinely happy. A full smile stretched across his face enough so that it reached his eyes and made them glint in the sunlight.

Instead of blatantly staring at him, she turned away and changed the subject, “She seems to know you rather well.”

“I used to frequent this tea house.” As they passed through the door, Hanzo peered around at the entryway fondly. “It was a home away from home.”

Angela looked up at Hanzo again as he removed his _ zori _and continued to speak.

“My mother brought me here for my first visit, and every subsequent visit she made after, I would join her.” He helped Angela remove her _ zori _ and assisted her in putting on a fresh pair of _ tabi _ after changing his own. Hanzo stepped back into his _ zori _, helped Angela with hers, and he resumed his story, leading them to the small garden outside. “Even after she passed, I would still take the train out here on my own as often as I could. It was a welcome reprieve to focus on something other than training. Something other than the clan. However, I had to stop after graduating from University. Family business would not allow me the time to visit.”

Before Angela could think to respond, the hostess summoned them to begin the ceremony. As Hanzo had said previously, he went through each action at a deliberate pace so she could clearly follow. Wherever she seemed to struggle, he immediately assisted. She was a little hesitant about being served sake, but he insisted she take a small sip and that she could ignore it for the rest of the meal. On the other end of the spectrum, he seemed to indulge a bit more than he should in the drink.

For nearly the entire ceremony, Angela remained quiet, even during the break where they waited out in the garden again and during the casual portion of the ceremony where the hostess and Hanzo had engaged once again in amiable chatter. Unbeknownst to Angela, the hostess made a gesture to Hanzo to turn his attention to Angela, before offering the smoking set to her. Angela politely declined puffing from the smoking set, to which the hostess nodded and handed the set over to Hanzo. He only took a few puffs himself before setting the pipe aside and returning his attention to Angela who was now nursing her bowl of thin tea and wearing an expression that appeared to be a mixture of discomfort and boredom.

Feeling guilty, Hanzo addressed her. “You do not appear to be enjoying yourself.”

Angela jerked her head to Hanzo in surprise.

“Oh no! This is actually quite nice.”

“Your expression reads otherwise.”

“I just - I feel out of place here.”

He glanced over to the hostess who immediately nodded and exited the room. Then he turned to fully face Angela.

“I did not mean for you to feel left out.”

“I know, but this is your culture.” Angela put her bowl down and glanced down at her hands. “I mean, look at me. Dressing up in your clothes. Participating in your traditions. I feel like I’m playing at being Japanese. You don’t think it’s insulting?”

“It is not. You are mistaken.”

“I’m ‘mistaken’?” She angrily stood up (with difficulty) and made her way for the door.

Hanzo leapt to his feet and called after her, “Wait, Angela!”

She took a few steps and then stopped. Turning back to him, she started, “Did you just say my -”

“Doctor Ziegler,” he quickly corrected himself.

She sighed. “Shimada, look. Whatever this is, I think we should just stop and return to the castle.”

Dejected, Hanzo looked at the floor and mustered up something between a compromise and a plea, “Doctor Ziegler, I ask that you reconsider.”

“Why?”

“You asked me earlier if I find the constant presence of my guards exhausting.”

“Yes?”

“It is,” he breathed out, running a hand through his hair, messing up the loose ponytail holding his hair together. “Please allow me this reprieve for as long as this day will allow.”

She felt sympathy welling up inside her. She often heard Genji express concerns about his brother even though they usually just argued with each other. Or perhaps it was because they were always arguing. She never heard Hanzo’s side of the story, but Genji made it clear that he did not blame Hanzo for their conflicts, always implying it was the elders that were the problem.

Angela drew in a deep sigh. “If I agree, can we do something that does not involve my legs falling asleep?”

Hanzo blinked a few times in surprise and then let out a chuckle. She felt the hairs on her neck stand on end. She could get used to that sound.

He smiled as he fell quiet.

“Let me apologize to the hostess, and then we can be on our way.”

* * *

They spent the rest of the afternoon visiting the shops and museums that dotted the shore of the lake beyond the edges of the orchard, much to the chagrin of Hanzo’s guards. Angela tried to take a few selfies by the koi ponds, but she was having trouble getting the specific angle she wanted. When Hanzo offered to take a few photos for her, an elderly vendor approached them and offered to take a photo of both of them together. They exchanged awkward glances but indulged the elderly man as he went so far as to pose Hanzo’s arm around Angela’s shoulders before finally taking a few photos, a couple of which were a little blurry due to his unsteady hands. One of the clear photos turned out to be the first one, the only one Angela was not ready for with her hand up, covering her mouth as she was laughing at the uncomfortable expression on Hanzo’s face. When the elderly man had returned to his stand, Hanzo snuck a few pictures of Angela alone as she admired the koi shimmering in the waning sunlight.

They started strolling back to the orchard as the sun began to dip low in the sky. Hanzo carried a large paper bag in one hand, cradling two unlit paper lanterns. Angela was finishing off her last piece of mochi.

“Ah, Doctor Ziegler,” Hanzo addressed her.

She looked at him. “Yes?”

He pointed at the corner of his mouth, indicating that she had something on her face. “You have - ah - some flour there.”

She wiped a finger over the spot he pointed to, but the flour did not budge.

“Please excuse me.” He licked his thumb lightly and brushed the flour away with ease as it stuck to the moisture on his thumb.

She stared at him perplexed for a moment. After he had brushed the flour off his thumb, she said, “You could have just told me to do that myself.”

Realizing what he had done, his face turned red. “Ah. My apologies.” He quickly started walking away.

Angela called out after him, “You know I can’t walk that fast.”

He froze and walked back to her, apologizing again along the way.

“I take it that was second nature due to a particularly troublesome younger brother,” she continued to tease.

Hanzo nodded, face still glowing red. “Yes. Genji was somewhat of a messy eater when he was younger.”

She paused thoughtfully. “You really don’t do this often, do you?”

“Do what?” He arched a brow at her.

“Go out?” A cheeky smirk curled up one side over her face.

He shook his head. “No. In fact, I have not attended a gathering for _ Hanami _in many years.”

Before Angela could stop herself, she said, “Because of your mother?”

He gave her a solemn look.

Angela recoiled, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to -”

“Yes.”

She blinked.

Hanzo turned his eyes forward staring off into space. “She loved _ Hanami _. After she passed, I did not have the heart to continue participating.”

Angela felt a tug in her chest. “You must miss her dearly.”

“Yes, I do.”

“May I ask how long it’s been?”

“Many years. Genji and I were still boys.”

She wrapped her arm around his. “I know it’s late, Shimada, but you have my condolences.”

Hanzo looked at Angela intently. “Hanzo.”

“Sorry?”

“Please call me ‘Hanzo’.”

She ducked her head slightly. “I don’t think that would be a good idea.”

Trying to resist making a disappointed expression, he asked, “Why?”

“Although the maids seem to like me, the rest of your staff looks at me like they still don’t trust me.”

“I see.” He nodded numbly.

“I think it would just be wiser to keep things professional between us.” She let go of his arm and pulled away from him slightly.

Hanzo paused, after which Angela mimicked after a few steps. She looked back over her shoulder to him puzzled.

“Would you consider us… friends?”

She worked her mouth around trying to think of a polite way to respond.

He turned downcast. “I thought so.” He resumed walking down the path they were on.

“Han- Shimada.”

It was his turn to stop and turn around.

“Before today, I would’ve said ‘no’.”

His expression stretched slightly in surprise.

“But now, I’d like to say ‘yes’… That is if you think so.”

“I would like to think so.”

Angela made a face in discomfort. “Your elders probably wouldn’t like it.”

Hanzo smiled. “They cannot dislike what they do not know.”

She raised a brow.

“It will be our secret.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is one of the first chapters I had written at the start of creating this whole story between Hanzo and Angela. I have read over this chapter so many times that I feel like I've gone blind to it. And so, if there are some glaring inconsistencies, I apologize. :(


	8. Ch. 7 - Difficult Reconciliation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hanzo is finally off bedrest...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **UPDATE: I made some adjustments to Genji and Hanzo's more personal dialogue to keep their backstories more in line with some new hints that popped up in some Genji voiceline interactions.**
> 
> I didn't have this chapter properly beta-read, so please forgive any horrendous problems with it. :(

## Chapter 7: Difficult Reconciliation

Hanzo’s first day off bedrest arrived, and Angela was nowhere in sight. So, Hanzo immediately took the opportunity to march out of the lab, with some clear difficulty at first, and get some much needed fresh air. Even though the base was mostly empty, the areas outside where Hanzo desired to be had at least one person either doing maintenance on some equipment or working on some other project, which resulted in Hanzo ducking around corners to avoid being seen. At least the weather was pleasant, and the cool breeze that flowed through the large cavernous hangars and shuttle bays felt nice on his skin that felt overheated having spent most of the last couple of days in a hospital bed. Eventually, he found a quiet secluded spot on the upper level of the comm tower facing out over the sea to meditate, closed his eyes, and soaked in a little sun.

The soft winding of gears and padding of feet alerted Hanzo that he had a visitor.

“How are you feeling today?” Genji asked in Japanese. He’d never admit it to Hanzo, but he missed using his native tongue.

“Restless,” Hanzo replied in kind, unmoving.

Genji took a seat next to Hanzo, knees pulled up to his chest with his arms folded on top of them. “Why’s that?”

Hanzo let a low grumble escape. “I spent the majority of the last two days in a hospital bed. I presume you would understand.”

“Heh. True.” Genji nodded and looked down at his feet. “You’re at least feeling better than yesterday, right?”

“Marginally.”

As they sat in silence, Genji mulled over what to say. Even though he spent a good amount of time with his brother during their walk yesterday, Genji couldn’t engage in much extraneous conversation since Hanzo was keen to remain silent. So, now that Hanzo seemed a little more loquacious, Genji took his opportunity to ask the main thing that was in the back of his mind since talking to McCree. “Have you thought about what you’re going to do after your recovery period is over?”

Not even waiting a beat, Hanzo answered, “Return to Japan, of course.”

“Why?” Genji made no effort to mask the disdain in his voice.

“‘Why?’” Hanzo finally opened his eyes and looked at Genji. “I have to protect our family’s ancestral home from invaders.”

Genji shifted and turned his head away. “What for? There’s nothing left there for us.”

Hanzo returned to looking out over the sea. “Perhaps for you, but that place is still our parents’ home.”

“Our parents are dead, brother,” Genji stated flatly as he lowered his head.

“I don’t think that’s the right way to ‘honor’ their memory.” The tone of Genji’s voice continued to grow angry.

“Hmph. You have your ways. I have mine.” Hanzo closed his eyes and sighed.

“That place was a prison for us,” Genji muttered.

“It was our home.”

Hanzo’s response made Genji even angrier. “No, it wasn’t! Why are you so persistent in protecting it?”

Hanzo sat unresponsive.

After taking a deep breath to calm down, Genji turned his body, folded his legs under him, and propped himself up with one arm as he leaned toward Hanzo. “I don’t think it’s worth your concern.”

“Then I do not think it is your concern to tell me what I should and should not do,” Hanzo replied, keeping his eyes closed.

“Brother,” Genji pleaded. “That place holds quite possibly the worst memories for both of us.

“That may be true, but it is also the place that holds my fondest memories.”

“Wh- What could possibly qualify as a fond memory from there?” Genji asked unbelievingly.

Hanzo finally opened his eyes and answered, “Mother.”

“M-mother?” Genji sputtered. _ Okay. He has a point… Mother was probably the only one that showed any tenderness to me… And that was the first place I met- _ “Wait. Only mother?”

Hanzo leered at Genji. “I beg your pardon?”

Genji dropped his shoulders and tilted his head to the side as if to say, _ Do I have to spell it out for you _, before he said, “Angela?”

Hanzo raised an eyebrow. “I do not know what you are talking about.”

“That was where you first met her, right?”

“And why does that matter?”

Genji shook his head. “Are you really in that much denial?”

Hanzo just stared blankly. “As I said before, I do not know what you are talking about.”

“I know you and Angela shared a few private moments together.”

“You are letting your imagination run wild. Regardless, I do not consider those fond memories.”

“Is that so?” Genji waved a hand at Hanzo. “Then what are they to you?”

Hanzo heaved a sigh as his expression dropped. “Regrets.” He stood from his place, descended the stairs of the comm tower, and trudged back to the med lab.

Genji sat in silence as his brother’s back slowly grew smaller and then disappeared from sight.

* * *

To the common observer, life had continued at the Shimada Castle for the young masters as it had done for years. The only ones who had been privy to any change were the Shimada brothers themselves. While the interaction between Angela and Genji remained almost unchanged, he noticed that her mood was usually at a constant high, even after her physical exams with Hanzo. Angela and Genji still spent a lot of time socializing together, but her time alone with Hanzo steadily increased. A month after Angela and Hanzo’s _ Hanami _ outing, Genji finally let his curiosity get the better of him. He took the opportunity to spy on them when Angela had finished checking him over for the day and moved onto her exam with Hanzo.

Hanzo was seated on the floor, only his back visible, in just his _ hakama _with his legs tucked under him. Angela was next to him dressing a gash on his right shoulder.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were purposely getting injured so I would have to spend more time with you,” Angela teased with a grin on her face.

“Injuries like this only take minutes to heal, thanks to you.” His voice and expression were impossible to discern from where Genji sat.

Angela clicked her tongue. “You shouldn’t get used to it. I may not always be here.”

“What do you mean?” Hanzo sounded genuinely surprised.

“To be honest, working under a Yakuza clan isn’t exactly a life goal of mine.” Angela got to her feet and took a half-charged biotic emitter she stored in a cabinet to the side she had claimed for her tools. Flipping the switch on, she set it down next to Hanzo and resumed her spot next to him, hugging her knees to her chest. “Though, I assume it may not be the wisest idea to tell anyone else about that.”

“As opposed to saying so in front of the clan leader?” Hanzo teased.

Angela immediately turned red from the realization.

Hanzo chuckled, almost making Genji inadvertently snort in disbelief. “Do not worry. Your secret is safe with me.”

Angela smirked and shook her head. “Now you’re just messing me with me!”

“Perhaps…”

After a moment of silence, Angela stood and walked toward the door Genji was lurking at. He quickly scrambled away from his spot and quietly climbed to the mezzanine above. He could faintly hear their voices filter up through the thin wood and paper from below.

“Keep the emitter on for another fifteen minutes. You should be fine after that.”

“Yes, Doctor,” Hanzo replied in plucky sing-song.

_ Did he just purposely make a patronizing crack at her? _ Genji mused in surprise.

“Try to not make these injuries a habit, Shimada.”

_ She did not get mad?? _ Genji’s thoughts continued.

“I will try.”

“Have a good evening.”

“And you.”

After Angela’s footsteps had completely faded away, Genji sighed to himself wistfully. Hearing his brother laugh for the first time in months made him feel guilty for even looking at Angela as more than a friend. It was clear Genji was fond of the Swiss Doctor, but he had been fond of many people. When was the last time Hanzo was fond of anyone? Sure he and his brother had not been getting along for a while, but that did not make him want to see his brother miserable. Angela may, in fact, be the only person Hanzo had genuinely smiled at in months. He wanted his brother to be happy, to be the way he had been when they were younger. 

Genji also had many companions. Hanzo had none. The clan elders made sure to cut any social ties outside of clan connections that could distract the elder Shimada from his responsibilities. The thought made Genji’s stomach turn. Something had to be done about them. And soon.

* * *

Hanzo’s first physical therapy session went about as well as he could have expected. Angela didn’t even bother asking where he had disappeared to beforehand. Instead, she just led him to the practice range and assigned him to a monitoring station. After delivering her instructions, she prepped him in silence. She observed him in silence. She ended the session with a single word. And of course, she left in silence. Eventually, she contacted him again about his results… via email.

Her email read:

_ Shimada, _

_ As I expected, your recovery is progressing significantly slower than usual under biotic treatment. Regardless, you are showing signs of good progress, and you should be fully recovered in approximately two weeks. I advise that you revisit the practice range again in the evening to walk for thirty minutes, and then report back to practice range the next morning at the same time as your session earlier today. _

_ One last thing, Please approach Winston in the Research Lab for a room assignment. I presume you wouldn’t want to keep sleeping on a hospital bed. _

_ Angela Ziegler _

While slightly inconvenient to have to settle into another bed, Hanzo actually looked forward to having a space to himself and not feeling the anxiety of Angela being in such close proximity all the time. Thus, he grabbed his few belongings that weren’t locked away, two small satchels, and a sake flask (still holding a decent amount of sake), and exited the med lab. He remembered seeing a “Research Lab” placard near the comm tower and made his way over there to go to find Winston.

Hanzo approached the ramp leading up to the lab when the band around his left wrist beeped sharply. A warning beep. So the research lab could easily be presumed to be a restricted area. How was he supposed to reach Winston? As he pondered his options, the door to the lab opened and a large gorilla wearing what appeared to be a full-body tracksuit appeared and ambled over to him.

The gorilla opened his mouth and spoke in clear English, “It’s good to see you on your feet, Hanzo.”

Hanzo blinked a few times. “Winston?” He recalled that there was a hyper-intelligent gorilla who was a part of the Overwatch team and defeated Doomfist several years ago, but he never expected that the Winston he was looking for would be that same gorilla.

“Ah, yes. My apologies. We were never properly introduced. I’m Winston. I run mission control and handle most of the computational systems.” He adjusted the glasses on his nose and turned his attention to the datapad on his hand.

Hanzo blinked in response again.

“If you’re curious how I knew you were here, your tracking wristband sends me a ping when you get too close to a restricted area and then transmits your location to me.” Analyzing his datapad, Winston continued. “Good to know it’s working properly. Anyway, Angela notified me you would be stopping by to receive a new room assignment.”

“Yes, that is correct,” Hanzo said in return. It wasn’t really a question, but Hanzo felt compelled to at least say something instead of staring. And now, he knew Genji had been telling the truth about the wristband, but would it actually stun him if he tried to enter a restricted area?

Winston tucks the datapad under his arm and looks up at Hanzo again. “All right then. Follow me, and I’ll show you to your new room.”

Winston led them through a couple of the cavernous hangar bays and then into what appeared to be a cramped apartment area built inside the rock.

Hanzo glanced down the corridor ahead of him. “These are your living quarters?”

“This area is our long-term lodging. There are around a dozen suites that house up to four people along with a dozen studio apartments. The uppermost floors have premiere suites that were once for ranking officers and foreign dignitaries.” Winston turned and continued forward down the hallway. “The studio at the end of this level will be yours.”

“Thank you. Any comfortable bed will be welcome.”

Hanzo kept a few steps behind Winston as they approached the door at the end of the hallway. As Winston came to a stop, he looked at his datapad again and typed away at the surface for a moment. A mild ping sounds from Hanzo’s wristband.

“Your tracker will be your key to your room from now on.” Winston steps back from the door. “Go ahead and try it out.”

Hanzo stepped forward and held his wristband in front of the aperture on the keypad next to the door. There was a ping of confirmation as the door slid open with a hiss. Upon entering the room, the stuffy smell of mothballs and storage boxes hit Hanzo in the face.

“It hasn’t been aired out for quite some time,” Winston explained when he saw the look on Hanzo’s face. “We only just removed the storage boxes that were stacked up in here earlier today to put a fresh mattress on the bed frame.”

“That is fine.” Hanzo took a small turn around the room. It was a surprisingly large studio, considering how confined the corridor felt. There was a desk along the far wall with a console display on top and a round coffee table in the center of the room. A large digital screen was mounted on the dividing wall between the sleeping and kitchen areas. A dresser stood at the foot of the bed onto which he placed his satchels and flask. There were a couple windows that let some light into the room. The sun was clearly obstructed by rock formations that surrounded the living quarters. The kitchen area had a small stove, sink, a few cupboards, and minifridge. Lastly, Hanzo checked the bathroom which was furnished with a basic vanity, shower, and toilet.

Winston took a look at the time on his datapad and concluded their conversation, “Your linens are on the mattress along with a pillow and blanket. If you need anything else, you should be able to call on Athena to assist you.”

Hanzo nodded. “Thank you.”

Winston nodded in return and left.

As Hanzo got to work on dressing his bed, he thought about how his time spent conversing with Winston felt extremely stiff. Winston’s words were polite enough. However, there was a distinct crispness in Winston’s voice that made Hanzo feel that Winston was still extremely wary of Hanzo’s presence. If Hanzo was not in such critical condition upon his arrival at Watchpoint, he was certain that Winston would have set him up in a cell, regardless of what he had done to assist the Overwatch team in Hanamura a few days ago.

After his bed was set, he took a moment to lay down and test it out. He had been denied a comfortable bed to call his own for a few weeks now, and the hospital bed he was in for the last couple of nights was little more than a cot. The bed was certainly not what he would consider luxury quality, but it was certainly more than satisfactory for now. As he pondered what to do next, a woman’s voice hummed through the console speakers from the desk.

“Hello, Mister Shimada. Do you require any assistance?”

Hanzo sat up and looked over to the desk. “Eh…”

“Please pardon the intrusion. I am Athena, the AI assistant for Overwatch.” An A-shaped emblem pulsed on the console’s screen. “Should you ever need me, simply call out my name near any terminal, and I will assist you in any way I can.”

Hanzo swung his legs over the edge of the bed and rested his hands on his knees as he gave Athena’s question some thought. He took in a deep breath and was reminded of one thing that he could use some help with. “Eh… Would it be possible to clear out the musty smell from this room?”

She chimed back, “Of course. I can run the fans to pump some air through the ventilation system to help push the stale air out. If you would be so kind as to open the windows for me.”

“Understood,” he replied, getting up from his seat and doing as Athena requested.

Soon enough, the room had been aired out, and then Athena guided Hanzo to where he could find the rest of the necessities. Soap, shampoo, towels, toilet paper, toothbrush, toothpaste, and even some bottles of water from the commissary to put into his minifridge. As he retrieved his flask from his dresser to put it into the minifridge, he considered stealing a sip from it but was interrupted by the doorbell ringing.

“Hello? Hanzo, are you there?” a high-spirited voice buzzed through the door intercom.

Hanzo quickly stashed the flask in the minifridge before approaching the door and answered through the intercom, “Yes. May I ask who this is?”

“I’m Lena Oxton! I flew the shuttle that brought you here,” she chirped. “Mind if I come in?”

“I - eh…” he stammered.

“I just want to ask you a couple questions.”

“Very well.” He disengaged the lock and opened the door.

Lena waved at Hanzo energetically as she came into view. “Hiya! You’re Hanzo, right?” She extended her right hand out to him. “Winston told me you were in this studio.”

“That is correct.” He raised his hand to hers.

She eagerly shook his hand and smiled. “Nice to meet you!”

“And you, Miss Oxton,” he replied politely as he retrieved his hand.

“Please, call me ‘Lena’!”

Hanzo remained silent as he backed away to let Lena into the room proper.

Receiving no response, Lena shrugged as she blinked into the room.

Hanzo pulled a double-take, unsure of what just happened.

She turned to face him and continued, “I’m heading out on a trip back to London, fetching some supplies and such, and I’m gathering requests from everyone for anything they can’t normally get around the base or from the nearby port. Do you have any particular special requests?”

He arched a brow. “Special requests?”

She tapped her chin. “Yeah, like maybe some instant noodles or green tea. Try to keep it within reason, though. I can’t exactly fly all the way to Tokyo.”

“Miss Oxton,” he addressed her.

“It’s Lena,” she said abruptly.

“Lena…” he began again.

“Yes?”

“Why are you doing this?”

“Doing what exactly?”

“Helping me. The others have made it clear that they are unhappy with my presence.”

“Well…” she started slowly. “It’s no secret that you caused some trouble in the past, but I prefer to keep a positive outlook on life. And I don’t believe you’re the same person anymore.”

“That sounds naive and foolish.”

“And what’s wrong with that?”

Hanzo blinked in surprise.

“Dwelling on the past keeps you from seeing the future. Now, I’m not blind to the reality of the world. I know bad things are happening everywhere, but I’m not about to let that keep me from seeing the good.” She paused as she took a step toward him and leaned forward. “You saved my friends. That’s what’s important to me right now.”

His face relaxed. “You have strong resolve.”

“Only because I’ve done it all my life.” She smiled at him. “Maybe you could start trying it out a little at a time.”

His mouth fell into a thin line.

“Now, how about that special request?” She took another step forward and grinned.

Hanzo looked down at his hands. What was the last thing he held that didn’t involve hurting someone? Nothing came to mind, at least not right away. There was one thing that he had a slight craving for.

He looked back up again at her. “A proper tea set.”

It was her turn to blink in surprise. “A tea set?”

He strode over to his dresser, pulled a card out of one of his satchels, and held it out to her. “There should be enough credits on this to cover a decent tea set. It does not need to be specifically a Japanese tea set, but something close would be preferred.”

She looked between him and the card a few times. “But, I could have bought it for y-”

“I will not accept handouts,” he interrupted sternly.

She made a slight pouting face as she carefully took the card from him. “Alright…”

“You said you had a _ couple _ of questions.”

“Oh right!” She pointed at him. “I need your comm ID.”

He arched a brow at her. “Can you not retrieve that information from Winston?”

“I can, but I only just thought of it on my way here… So, now that I’m here…” She smiled sheepishly.

Hanzo frowned slightly and fished his comm out of the same satchel. Unlocking the device, he read the ID number at the top aloud, “Twelve fifty-eight… Ninety-nine…”

She quickly pulled her comm out and typed in the ID number. “Twelve fifty-eight. Ninety-nine. Alright. Thanks!” She clapped her hands in front of her. “Well, I have to get going. Be back in a few days! Cheers!” She waved in farewell and blipped out of sight.

Hanzo just stared at the empty space where Lena had just stood a moment again and just shook his head. He reached over to the keypad next to his door and locked it.

* * *

Angela worked on getting Hanzo prepped for his light physical therapy regimen the next morning. She led him to the practice range just as she did the day before and asked him to take his _ gi _ off so that she could apply EKG sensors on him. And just as she did the day before, she finished up her prep without another word and started to turn away, but Hanzo grabbed her arms and pulled her back to him.

“Doctor Ziegler,” he addressed her.

Angela just stared through him.

“Doctor Ziegler,” he repeated firmly, “look at me.”

She started to turn her head away.

Feeling piqued, he shook her, probably with more force than he intended, as he repeated himself again, “Look at me!”

Her eyes finally locked with his, and he immediately regretted his behavior. Surprise quickly gave way to defiance as she glared at him, but her hands started to tremble.

As if on cue, Winston’s voice interrupted the unsettling silence, “Angela, are you there?”

She flinched and pulled away to answer her comm, as Hanzo relented his hold on her immediately.

“Yes, Winston. Is there something I can do for you?” Her voice was disturbingly calm considering what had just transpired.

“If you’re free, I’d like to discuss something with you in my lab.”

“Certainly,” she answered, completely neglecting the fact that she was supposed to start Hanzo’s physical therapy session. “I’ll be right there.”

She left without another word. Hanzo closed his eyes and lowered his head in frustration.

* * *

Winston was setting up a simulation on his holograph projector as Angela entered the lab. Echo hovered over to Winston’s side.

“You wanted to see me?” she asked.

“Ah yes!” Winston replied to her as he stood up from his seat and motioned her over to him. “I wanted to ask if your ‘stealth’ prototype was still fit to be used again.”

“Yes, why do you ask?” She walked up to the projector and lightly rested her hands on the edge of the table the projected was mounted on.

Winston arched a brow at her. “Is it?”

Angel nodded in the affirmative.

Winston regarded Echo before returning to the holograph again. “After the Valkyrie overdrive, I was curious if there was damage done to the flight system. When we were reviewing the reconstructed footage, we noticed that you had some curious movement responses when you fell behind Genji and McCree.”

Angela was unsure if she heard him right. “I did?”

“Uh, yes.” He activated an overhead view of the docks where they evacuated from Tokyo. There were three blue dots, one yellow dot, and one large red dot. “This is your position here.” Winston pointed to the three blue dots clustered together. “The Talon dropship.” The large red dot in the middle of the field between the blue dots and the docks. “And Hanzo’s position at your flank.” The yellow dot positioned to the side. “Here, the three of you have paused.” Winston starts the playback of the mission. “Genji and McCree start moving almost immediately. However, you don’t move until Hanzo comes in to assist you.”

Angela stared at the hologram stunned. “I… I don’t recall any of that.”

“None of it?” Echo asked.

“No.” She shook her head quickly.

Winston punched in a few keys and brought up a holographic screen. “This was the footage captured from the shuttle.” The screen played a muted video where Hanzo’s Dragonstrike was seen twisting through the Talon ship. The three of them could be seen standing at the dock unmoving, but where Genji and McCree immediately started running for it, Angela stood still until the Talon ship was almost on top of her. She boosted forward almost directly into the ship, but Hanzo intervened and knocked her out of harm’s way and into the dark waters below.

She stared wide-eyed at the video, taking particular note of the Dragonstrike. “I don’t remember any of this.”

Winston cast a concerned look at her and turned to Echo who had been analyzing another screen.

Echo looked up from her screen and quickly gave her diagnosis. “Angela, maybe you should take a few days to rest. You may be suffering from some stress-induced trauma.”

Angela pondered this development for a few silent moments, and then a small realization hit her. One that was still waiting for her back in the practice range.

“What about Shimada’s examinations?”

“You can take care of his session today,” Echo acknowledged. “But after that, it’s probably best that you take a break from the other research that I know you’ve still been pouring over after you arrived here. Also, I can take over for the rest of the team’s physicals.”

She tried to argue, “I don’t think -”

Winston intervened, “Angela. I insist you follow Echo’s recommendation.”

* * *

Angela returned to the practice range where she had left Hanzo alone only halfway prepped for physical therapy. After awkwardly directing him through some light cardio on the treadmill and light strength training with free weights, the two of them returned to the med lab so that Angela could clean and redress Hanzo’s sutures.

“Tsst!” hissed Hanzo.

Angela had tugged a little too hard while cleaning his sutures. Her hands had been shaking the whole time since she had returned from Winston’s lab that she had been struggling to not aggravate the skin around Hanzo’s healing skin.

“Sorry,” Angela flinched as she responded. She balled her hands into fists in an attempt to steady them before resuming her attempt to clean his sutures. “I explained before that your blood loss will make this wound take longer to heal even with biotic emitters. It will be another couple days before these sutures can come out.”

Another accidental pull incited a sharp hiss from Hanzo. “_Will you stop that?!_”

“I’ll be done in a minute.” Angela failed miserably at hiding the panic in her voice.

Hanzo decided he had enough and slid off the examination table.

“Shimada!” Angela almost shouted. “I’m not done.”

He grabbed his _ gi _ and _ obi_, pulling the _ gi _ over his shoulders as he made for the door. “Hmph. Well, _ I _ am done.”

Angela gets up and follows him. “I haven’t put any dressings over your - “

“You are more likely to tear my skin again than heal it!” Hanzo interrupted as he activated the door switch.

She grabbed his collar. “I have to -”

“_Leave me alone!_”

He spun to shake her hands off his collar but swung his arms too wildly…

There was a thunk as his elbow connected soundly with Angela’s temple, knocking her into her instrument table, scattering her tools everywhere. Angela also found herself greeting the floor immediately after as the table slid out from under her.

Regret immediately spread over Hanzo’s face. Time slowed to a crawl. As Angela stared up at him in shock, a moment from the past flashed by his eyes. Her hair back then was shorter. Flecks of dirt had settled into her hair and onto her skin. Her eyes widened so far that the whites of her eyes were completely visible around her irises. Hanzo looked down at his hands and saw that they were covered in blood.

“_What the hell?!_”

They both turned to the doorway to see McCree with a frighteningly angry look on his face. Not waiting for McCree to act, Hanzo pushed past the cowboy and ran.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I need to get the rest of what I have beta-read first before posting. So there is probably a good chance I won't be able to post another chapter before the new year or soon after. :(


	9. Ch. 8 - Epiphany

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angela and Hanzo take some time for some introspection...

## Chapter 8: Epiphany

Hanzo finally came to a halt just outside the commissary. The cavernous hall echoed with his steps for a moment before it finally fell completely silent, leaving him alone with his thoughts screaming at him.

_ Why did I shout at her? _

He pulled his _ gi _ closed and straightened his collar.

_ And I hit her… What the hell was I thinking? _

No answer came to him as he tied off his _ obi _. He recounted how his frustrations were stacking up ever since the first time he woke up in the med lab. Angela refused to make eye contact with him until he forced her to earlier that day. They spent most of their time in the same room, and not once did they hold a conversation outside of the examination questions that Angela asked. While she was responsible for his health, she took care of him in the most evasive ways possible. Whenever she had to directly give him medication, she would put the pills in a paper cup, walk into his area, place it on his nightstand, then abruptly turn and leave.

He saved her life, and she showed no gratitude for it. He expected this. He knew she would be cold or negligent, but he longed for some sign of recognition...

… and it tore at his heart.

“Shimada,” a low stern voice called from behind him.

Hanzo turned around to see the wide form of a cowboy stalking up to him.

“What do you -”

McCree cut Hanzo off, grabbing his collar and dragging him back in the direction of the med lab, “You and me are gonna have a serious talk.”

* * *

Genji had found Angela still sitting on the med lab floor when he rushed to the lab after hearing the commotion. She stared up at him with a panicked look on her face as he held out his hand to help her up. After taking a couple minutes to get Angela up off the floor and into a seat, Genji called Echo over from Winston’s lab to help Angela calm her nerves, while he gathered all the fallen instruments and did his best to reset everything as it was before. Thankfully, it didn’t take too long for Angela to regain a semblance of calm, but she still looked upset.

Echo hovered over Angela and asked, “How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine,” Angela said staring off into space, clearly not fine.

Echo gave her a look. She was far from convinced Angela was “fine.”

Angela added with more sincerity, “Really. I’m fine.”

Echo still didn’t look convinced, but she let it go. “I need to head back over to the research lab. Will you be all right?” 

“Yes,” Angela nodded.

“Don’t be afraid to let me know if you need anything else,” Echo stated in a way that mimicked Angela’s own “motherly” tone.

Angela sighed and smiled. “Yes, of course. Thank you, Echo.”

“And don’t forget, I want you resting for the next few days,” Echo returned the smile and departed.

Genji pulled up a chair and took a seat in front of Angela.

“He has always been difficult,” he began.

Angela hung her head and shook it. “Understatement of the century.”

“Perhaps.” Genji chuckled lightly before continuing. “But I have to ask, what is going on with you?”

Angela lifted her head up, looking slightly accosted. “I beg your pardon?”

He leaned back. “You have dealt with far more difficult people in the past, and none of them affected you the way my brother does now.”

“What? I conduct myself as a professional.” She narrowed her eyes as she spoke.

He tilted his head curiously. “But you avoid looking at him.”

Angela lowered her voice slightly, “How would you know that?”

He shrugged. “He told me.”

She rolled her eyes and threw her head back. “Why does this even matter?”

“You practically run away from him after you finish your examinations,” Genji added in an exasperated tone.

“So?”

“‘So?’ How can you call that professional conduct?”

Angela turned her head away and sunk into her chair, refusing to answer.

“Do you feel something when you look at him?” Genji asked, trying to appeal to Angela’s analytical side.

She tossed up her hands. “Anger? Disappointment?”

“Those are pretty strong emotions,” he almost laughed.

She leered in response. “You of all people should understand.“

“Maybe so, but I’ve forgiven him.”

Angela made an indiscernible sound and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

He extended a hand to her. “Don’t you think you should find a way to resolve those negative emotions considering you’ll be seeing him for his exams?”

“He’ll be gone once his recovery period is over.” She lowered her head and turned away.

Genji gripped the edge of his seat with his hands and leaned forward. “Are you sure that’s how you want it to be?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I don’t think it’s in your best interest to leave things between you and my brother this way. My master would say the same.”

“Genji…” Angela sighed and closed her eyes.

He pushed the subject further. “Also, what if he stays?”

She opened her eyes in response. “Why would he stay?”

He only shrugged.

“I’m pretty sure he has no interest in prolonging his time here.” She uncrossed her arms and sat upright. “He’s made it rather clear he can’t stand being around me.”

“Well, I’m pretty sure I know my brother better than you,” he said in sing-song.

She didn’t move, but she frowned at him. “Oh, so then what do you think is going on in that head of his?”

Genji pulled back and tapped his chin. “I believe it’s not you he has a problem with. He’s struggling with himself.”

“I find that a little hard to believe.”

He extended his hand to her again. “However, your behavior around him doesn’t really help him.”

She shot up from her chair. “What do you expect from me?!”

The sudden outburst forced Genji back.

“How would you feel if you saw someone getting torn apart by some - some - something you couldn’t explain!” Angela flailed her arms around as if she was trying to interpret what she saw because she could not find the words to do so.

Genji held up his hands defensively. “Doctor Ziegler, please -”

“You didn’t see it!” Her eyes widened wildly.

He stood up and tried to rest his hands on her shoulders. “Angela.”

She flailed and almost stumbled backward into her chair. “How he just -”

He grabbed her by the arms to steady her. “_ Angela! _”

She stopped, looking as though she reached an epiphany. She stared upward, as though there was some sort of guiding light shining down on her from above. “You’re right, Genji. There is something going on with me.” Her voice had gone quiet like a whisper.

“What is it?”

Angela looked him straight in the eye. “I’m absolutely terrified of him.”

* * *

McCree shoved Hanzo into a small side room. Hanzo let out a small squawk in pain as McCree’s use of physical force made Hanzo twist in a way that pulled on his sutures and also sent a sharp jolt of pain down his back.

Clutching his side, Hanzo turned and glared at McCree as defiantly as he could. “Who the hell are you, and why did you drag me here?”

McCree answered in a low voice, “The name’s McCree, and like I said, partner, we’re gonna sit down and have a serious talk.”

“There is nothing to talk about,” Hanzo spat out before he winced in pain again.

“Like hell there isn’t,” growled McCree. In the next instant, he lunged for Hanzo, grabbing him by the collar. “I just saw you deck the best person in the world. Don’t think for a second that I’mma let you get away with that.”

“It was an accident.” He didn’t lie, but it hardly sounded like an admission of guilt.

“That don’t make it any better.” McCree stared him down and pulled Hanzo’s collar tighter.

As he started to choke, Hanzo barely managed to utter, “Unhand me.”

McCree made no move to loosen his grip. “Not before you answer my next question.”

“What is it then?” Hanzo wheezed.

“Do you have some kinda problem with Angie?”

“Angie...? Doctor Ziegler?”

“Only one ‘Angie’ here.”

An awkward silence settled for a moment. Hanzo’s hesitation prompted McCree to grow angrier and tighten his chokehold on Hanzo.

Finally understanding the peril he was in, Hanzo choked out a reply, “No.”

McCree unceremoniously dropped Hanzo to the floor.

Hanzo propped himself with his hands on knees and coughed for a few moments, but McCree didn’t give him the courtesy to regain his composure before starting a tirade.

“Then why do you have to treat her like that?” He threw his hands in the air. “She’s the nicest person in the world, heart of a saint, and probably the most accepting person I know, saving anyone she can regardless of what they’d done in the past - I would know - and then you come along, and she’s on pins and needles around you. What the hell did you do to her?”

Hanzo sighed heavily as he stood upright and massaged his throat. “The answer is difficult to explain.”

McCree crossed his arms. “I dunno. Couldn’t be worse than you almost killing your -”

“Stop,” Hanzo coughed before he raised his head defiantly. After a moment, he dropped his gaze and turned to the side. Now, he looked guilty. “Just give me a moment.” He looked around the small room, still clearing his throat, as though something would give him assistance in formulating an explanation that would not lead to McCree potentially reacting violently.

“Well?” McCree was getting impatient and appeared ready to choke Hanzo again.

Aware of the imminent danger, Hanzo began his story. “She saw me lose control. The dragons- My rage… took over.” Hanzo looked down at his hands and balled them into fists. “I felt nothing but wanting to destroy anything that was in my way…” _ I was trying to protect her but in the end … I… _

McCree’s eyes narrowed. “You realize what you just did to her made everything worse.”

Hanzo closed his eyes as if he was in pain, releasing an exasperated sigh, and turned away again. “You think I do not know that?”

“How about _ you think _ of a way to make it better?”

Frustration bubbled up in Hanzo’s chest. “What can I do to make it better?!”

McCree shrugged. “Easy. Apologize.”

“It is not that simple,” Hanzo snarled.

McCree growled back. “Yes, it is that damn simple! Dancing around the problem is only gonna make shit worse.”

Hanzo glared angrily in response, but couldn’t hold his ground and relented almost immediately, unable to hide signs of disappointment in himself. “I will be gone from this place soon enough.”

McCree uncrossed his arms and hooked his thumbs into his belt. “Running away is one solution, I guess.”

“I am _ not _ running away,” Hanzo growled.

McCree huffed. “Sure sounds like it to me.”

Hanzo fixed McCree with the hardest glare he could muster.

McCree only calmly stared back. “Whatever your demons, you better do some serious soul-searching and fast. God knows you’ve had more than enough time to figure out if you love her or not.”

Not expecting McCree to have been so astute about his feelings, Hanzo spun his head so fast he almost made himself dizzy. “What sort of nonsense are you talking about?!”

“Don’t be giving me that look! There’s something going on in that messed up head of yours that’s either love or hate, but I ain’t gonna decide that for you!” McCree turned to leave Hanzo to stew with his thoughts but stopped as he set his hand on the door switch. “Oh, and for the record, if you don’t apologize to her for that mess in the med lab before I see you next, well, it’s been real nice knowing you, partner.”

Hanzo felt a bead of cold sweat roll down the back of his neck.

* * *

Angela dragged her feet the whole way back to her room. The realization she came to just a short while ago was still ringing in her head and left her confused about how to manage her feelings about it. Genji offered to talk to Hanzo for her, but she requested he stay quiet. She wasn’t sure if she could even face Hanzo again. Unfortunately, she turned the corner to see the one person she really didn’t want to see.

There stood Hanzo beside her door, looking directly at her.

“Doctor Ziegler,” he addressed her.

Angela fought off the urge to spin on her heel and sprint in the other direction and instead mustered up the nerve to keep moving forward so that she could make it to her room to sleep. Still, she was unable to keep her voice from wavering when she spoke. “Shimada, what are you doing here?”

Hanzo stood upright and turned to face her properly. “I came here to apologize for what transpired in the infirmary earlier.” He bowed his head, but kept his eyes locked on hers. “I did not injure you, did I?”

She shook her head. “N-no. Just surprised me.” She nervously massaged her left arm with her right hand in an attempt to distract her from the panic creeping up her spine.

He was clearly aware that she was growing increasingly uncomfortable, so he decided to make his exit. “I am relieved to hear it. Again, my sincerest apologies. Have a good evening.” He bowed to her properly and left.

Angela sighed deeply in relief, quickly entered into her room, and secured the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still working on this! I have quite a few chapters, but lacking a beta-reader makes it hard for me to be confident in posting what I have in my buffer. o_o


	10. Ch. 9 - Prelude to Death

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fated fight we've all been waiting for...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **UPDATE: The exchange between Hanzo and Genji before they start fighting has been slightly revised.**
> 
> There are parts that I have very weakly attempted to write in Japanese. It is meant to emphasize that Angela does not completely understand what is being said. Translations are provided in parentheses with the intended meaning of the Japanese speech to aid the wonderful people reading this because I have not studied the language in years. So this is meant to help everyone understand the mood I am trying to build with my weak narrative. Please forgive me if I completely mess this up...
> 
> This is also one of the oldest chapters out of everything I have written for this story... So if there are weird inconsistencies, I apologize. :(

## Chapter 9: Prelude to Death

The light in the room was dim. One sterile fluorescent light was shining down from directly above. The air reeked, and the throbbing in her head did not help. Slowly, Angela opened her eyes to find her wrists and ankles bound to a chair in the middle of a room with black walls and no windows. Her hair was loose and obstructed some of her vision, but she could still make out a table next to her with a large black cloth folded in half stretching across it, dotted with a series of bumps that she had no doubt were an assortment of tools that were not used for their original intended functions. She did not have to think hard to realize that she was in one of the Shimada torture cells. She was certain she didn’t let her cover slip, but little good that did for her now.

She tried to wiggle her fingers and found they were not responding well. What did they inject her with? How long was she out?

“_Oi, oi, oi! Okite iyo!_” (Hey, hey, hey! She’s awake!) a man chirruped from behind her.

“_Sate nani shiyou ka?_” (What do we do now?) Another voice said.

“_Boss matte iru?_” (Keep waiting for the boss?)

The second man puffed a curt laugh. “_ Kanojo yubi matawa futatsu kakete iru baai, Boss no ki ni shinai to omou. _” (I don’t think the boss will mind if she’s missing a finger or two.)

The men behind her cackled, and she could hear their feet shuffling toward the table. There was a subtle sound of metal grazing fabric, and then a man walked clearly into view. Black suit. Greasy smile. He turned a thin blade over in his hands and leaned forward, both hands on knees, leveling his face with her.

“Pretty little gaijin lady is in deeeeeeep shiiiit.”

With everything she could muster, Angela leaned her head back and then swung forward, slamming her forehead into the man’s nose.

A string of curses spewed from his mouth as he reeled back, dropping the knife and grabbing his nose, which was now bleeding profusely and getting spatter stains all over his pristine shirt. The other man pulled her back by the shoulders as the first snarled and stepped back up to her, immediately slamming his fist into the side of her face. With his other hand at her neck, he spun her face forward again and wound up for another swing.

“_Yamero_.” (Stop.)

The voice was quiet, low, and deathly precise.

Angela felt the hands on her shoulders and neck immediately leave her, as the men scurried off to the side.

Through strands of her hair and bleary vision, she could see a sharp silhouette wearing light blue in a doorway in front of her that she did not notice before. The silhouette walked up to her, stopping inches from her knees. A hand reached out to her neck. She felt thumb and fingers cup her chin and push her face up. The light above makes it impossible for her to see the man’s face, but the long sleek hair hanging down was a dead giveaway who it could be.

“_Ike_,” (Leave.) he barked to the pair of men behind her.

The men quickly moved to the door but lingered there.

The man leaned down, stopping when his face was not even an inch from hers, whispering so quietly in English she almost missed it, “I am going to get you out of here.” Immediately after, he pressed his mouth to hers.

The startled shriek that she made triggered the men in the doorway to snicker. Satisfied with what they thought was coming to her, they finally left and shut the door.

The uninvited kiss caused Angela to tense up. Her eyes darted around in panic, until she realized that his kiss was not invasive, but rather chaste. The moment the door clicked shut, he pulled away and looked over his shoulder as though he was checking to make sure the door was closed.

“Shimada?” Her voice cracked.

He bent down to pick up the dropped knife and turned back to her to cut the ropes on her wrists and ankles, throwing the knife away when he was done. Taking her face in hand again, he turned it side to side and pulled down on her cheeks with his thumbs to get a good look at her eyes. He frowned.

“You were drugged.” He took a couple of steps back and asked, “Are you able to stand?”

She tested her legs, they were responsive enough. “I think so.” She got up slowly, but with some difficulty balancing at first.

After a moment, he nodded and headed for the door.

“Shimada -” She stumbled slightly as she followed.

He turned back to face her and cut her off, “We do not have long. Stay close to me.”

“Won’t someone notice I’m missing?”

“That is why I brought this.” He gestured to his side. It was only then that she noticed the _daishou _ (_katana _ and _ wakazashi _ set) strapped to his waist. He grabbed her by the hand. “Come.”

They dashed down the hallway and turned left. Angela was worried that her dragging feet would alert someone to their flight, but they encountered no one. They turned left again and then right down a long tunnel that looked more like a drained sewer. At the end of the tunnel was a worn stone stairwell that led up. They slowed to a stop, and he pressed a finger to his lips, signaling to be quiet. He climbed the stairs and carefully opened a sliding hatch. The faint smell of incense and sandalwood reached her nose.

Angela felt her legs give out under her, and she hit the ground breathing heavily. A light swish of fabric and mild trace of vanilla told her that he was back at her side. Once again, his hands cupped her face. Her face turned left and right. He frowned again.

“I should have known such exertion would exhaust you quickly.” He felt her forehead and then ran his hand down to cup the side of her face. “You’re cold.” He let out an angry growl.

Stepping to her other side, He leaned her back into the crook of one arm and hooked the other arm under her knees. Hoisting her up the stairs, he carried her into a small armored room, the door hidden behind a decorative folding divider, resting her back into a corner and covering her from the neck down with a blanket.

“Stay here. Remain silent,” he tried to soothe her.

“Hanzo.”

He froze. It was the first time she had ever addressed him by just his first name.

“Where are we?”

“A panic room connected to the shrine. I need to secure a way to get you to a safe house.”

Puzzled by his actions, she asked, “Why are you risking yourself like this to help me?”

He looked her in the eye but gave no answer.

“How long did you know?”

Hanzo looked at the floor. “From the beginning.”

“So this was a failure from the start.” Angela turned her head toward the wall and closed her eyes.

He looked at her intently. He couldn’t find the words that he felt he should say. So he sat in silence, catching a hint of the same sakura lotion from their _ Hanami _ outing. He pondered leaning closer to her to sample the fragrance again, but he refrained from doing so and shifted to admiring the golden hairs on her head and gentle lines of her face. Even with the dirt on her skin and the purple bruising that started to form on her cheek where she was struck, he thought she looked perfect and beautiful. Recalling the moment he saw her break the man’s nose earlier made him smile.

The sound of a sliding door outside jarred Hanzo back to the present.

He noticed that Angela heard the sound as well since she was looking intently at the door to the small room they were in. Hanzo rested a hand on her knee.

“I will come back,” he reassured her in a hushed voice.

* * *

Genji sat facing the large scroll on the wall,  _ katana _ resting across his lap and  _ wakizashi _ tucked into the back of his obi. Noticing Hanzo’s arrival, he opened stiff conversation in Japanese.

“You’re late, brother. How uncharacteristic.”

“Clan business delayed me.” He slid the door shut.

Genji turned his head to glance over his shoulder. “What sort of clan business?”

“Since when did you take an interest in it?”

“Since I figured out they took Angela.”

Hanzo did not know how much Genji knew about the situation, but he was going to make sure he could get all three of them out safely before the rest of the clan would be made aware. In an attempt to keep their conversation marginally more private, he switched to English and lowered his voice. “Genji. Let us move this conversation elsewhere.”

“Switching to English will not fool the guards. It only makes them more suspicious.”

Hanzo closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. “Just do as I say without talking back to me.”

Genji slammed a hand down on the floor. “Why?! So I can become another puppet for those greedy bastards who control you?”

Hanzo stomped as he turned to fully face Genji. “They are the clan elders for a reason! Father took their guidance just as I have!”

Gripping his katana scabbard in his left hand, Genji stood up, challenging him. “No! I’m not going to make the same mistake you and Father made!” He swung his free hand to the side as though mimicking throwing something away. With the same hand, he pointed at Hanzo. “Both of you were nothing more than mindless slaves!”

Hanzo flung his free hand over his chest. “I am trying to preserve a legacy!”

It was Genji’s turn to stomp in defiance. “The Shimada legacy is dead! Those old bastards drove it into the ground! If you truly wanted to honor our family, you would throw them all out on their asses!”

“You have no right to lecture me about honor! You never once considered your duty to this clan!” Hanzo rested his right hand on the hilt of his katana and gripped the scabbard with this left. “Tell me. What do you truly know about honor?!”

Genji hesitated but followed suit gripping the hilt of his sword.

Hanzo was not expecting Genji to reciprocate with an attack stance.  _ I will have to render him unconscious if I am to get him out of here safely... That will not be easy. _ “Do you have any idea what I have to go through to keep the elders off my back regarding you?”

“Should I care?” Genji made no move to advance.

_ Typical. _ Hanzo began a slow approach, feeling his anger building with each step. “Do you even have any idea what our father had to do for the ‘sake of the clan’?”

“I don’t care about what that old man did. He never cared about me.” Genji sidestepped.

Hanzo mirrored the step, the sound of blood pumping through his ears was getting louder, and he felt a rumbling sensation in his left arm. “Are you even listening to yourself? Were you expecting to live in some sort of fairy tale? Father was a worldly man. He did what he had to do to maintain leadership of this clan, and he still bothered to protect you no matter how insolent you were behaving! Are you truly so selfish that you cannot think of what he did to keep you safe?!”

Genji stopped and shifted his weight to his left leg, curling as though ready to draw. “You think he did that out of love? He only did that to cover his own ass.”

“_He coddled and spoiled you! He risked everything just to keep you safe! _ ” Hanzo could not keep his voice from cracking with anger, and as he finished his last sentence, he drew his sword and charged.

* * *

It was a deadly ballet of fabric and blades. Hanzo opened with a powerful two-handed swing from overhead. Genji parried, left knee giving out and hitting the tatami mat. The sound of metal ringing echoed off the vaulted ceilings as the two brothers crossed swords. After the momentum of Hanzo’s swing passed, Genji pushed off the floor and forced Hanzo back. The escalating shouts had drawn the attention of several guards in the vicinity of the shrine and they were gathering at the doors to watch.

Hanzo maintained the offensive as Genji would dodge and deflect. He did not get away from all strikes unscathed. A cut here. A slash there. Nothing more than surface scratches, but each strike gradually whittled away at his dexterity. Soon, light flecks of blood were spattered all over the mats. Hanzo took his share of strikes, not nearly as many as Genji, but a few deflections grazed Hanzo’s legs and one came dangerously close to his right eye, nicking his cheek instead.

Even as both men began to sweat and breathe heavily, they did not slow down. However, Genji began to retaliate. Fake left. Slash from the lower right. Jabs that Hanzo easily clipped to the side in rapid succession. Genji had never actually gone all out when he trained, and now he can see his brother never did either. Genji felt he had the edge in raw speed at the very least, but Hanzo’s reaction time kept taking the upper hand away from him. It irritated him. He thrust a kick to Hanzo’s midsection, feeling satisfied with the solid connection he made and the sound of Hanzo grunting as the wind was knocked out of him.

Genji charged and slashed horizontally from the right, and Hanzo dipped under to dodge. Unable to stop the momentum of his swing, Genji left his side wide open. Hanzo delivered a vicious kick of his own to Genji’s flank and sent him flying back, sprawled on the mat. Hanzo charged as he did in the beginning, arms raised over his head. Genji brought his sword up just in time to block the blade falling fast toward his neck. The force of the blow notched their swords, splinters scattering across the floor.

Then he saw it.

Hanzo’s eyes were glowing. A burst of fluorescent blue was undulating under loose strands of hair.

“_Anija? _”

Genji’s voice did not reach him. He tried to push back against his older brother’s weight, but his position made it impossible. Slowly, the elder brother’s blade made its descent.

“_Hanzo! _”

Hanzo immediately relented and looked up at the voice that called to him.

Angela had stumbled out of her hiding place, barely holding herself up by balancing herself against the frame of the door.

The men who had been watching from just outside turned and ran at her, all clearly aware that she was not supposed to be there.

Genji leaned right, and then quickly shifted left, using the pommel of his hilt to knock his older brother off-balance and shove him off. Hanzo landed flat on his back. Genji rolled to his feet and ran toward Angela.

“_Angela, run! _” he shouted.

Hanzo’s mind reeled.

_She is going to be captured again. _

The two closest men grabbed her by the arms.

_Tortured. _

It began with a rumble -

_Murdered. _

\- and exploded into a roar.

Everyone froze in shock and turned to look at the source of the sound.

Two electric blue dragons erupted from Hanzo’s body. Immediately on his feet with sword in hand, he surged toward the men that were attempting to grab Angela, dragon maws gaping wide ready to devour. One by one, the men fell.

Hanzo showed no signs of slowing and turned toward Angela. Panicking, Genji ran forward to intercept Hanzo’s path, futilely using himself to shield Angela. Hanzo’s sword effortlessly slashed through his back and sent the younger brother flying across the floor, the force of the blow tearing straight through him and slashing the large scroll on the wall.

“_Genji!! _” Angela screamed.

The dragons continued forward, each one devouring the men who were holding onto Angela. She screamed and dropped to the floor as the dragons circled around her. The heat that radiated off them singed her skin.

“_Hanzo! Stop! _ ” she called out in desperation. “ _ Please! _”

In an instant, the roars drifted away.

The blue haze faded from Hanzo’s eyes, and he looked down to see the destruction that was left in the dragons’ wake. While the shrine was only somewhat disheveled with just a few things knocked out of place, the bodies of the men around him were an entirely different matter. His eyes dragged across the floor, counting the fallen. They stopped when they fell on a body with wild black hair lying crumpled in a pool of his own blood. Every inch of Hanzo’s body ran cold. The Dragonstrike had cut through the injured form, lacerating whatever wounds were already open. What skin he could see that was not bloodsoaked was badly burnt.

Genji was motionless. The pool of blood grew. Hanzo could only step back in horror.

“_Genji! _”

His heart stopped. She saw. She saw everything. She saw him lose control. She saw him cut down everyone mercilessly. Worst of all, she saw him kill his own brother.

Angela struggled to Genji’s side. She laid him on his back, getting blood all over her hands and clothes. He was such a mess that she hesitated considering what she could possibly do to save him. She turned her head to Hanzo. Eyes full of only what Hanzo could interpret as pain and disappointment. She said nothing, but it was clear what was whirling around in her head.

_How could you?! _

He took a step towards her, but she recoiled.

“_Don’t! Don’t come any closer! _”

The words cut through him sharper than any blade.

And so, he ran. He just ran. What could he possibly say? What could he possibly do? He became the monster that the clan elders wanted him to become. He did the one thing he swore he would never do. In the end, the elders got what they wanted.

* * *

Angela looked around the shrine. So many bodies. Were they all dead? She couldn’t check them. Genji took priority. She found a weak pulse and immediately ran, albeit clumsily, for her medical cabinet in Genji’s prep room in the neighboring building and dragged the whole thing out into the center of the shrine. After ripping a biotic emitter from its wrapping, she flicked the power switch on and got to work. She had no idea if she would be able to stabilize him, but she had no options left.

_Unless... _

They were halfway around the world. It would take at least two hours to get to a team out here even in their fastest ship, not including prep.

What other choice did she have? She could not stay in Hanamura. Her cover was blown. Hanzo was gone. Her mission failed. She fished her emergency beacon from her medical kit. The Overwatch symbol pulsed slowly on the screen. She pressed her thumb to the center of the symbol and it pinged in confirmation. Athena’s voice hummed from the beacon.

“ID Confirmed. Evacuation en route.”

“Hang on, Genji. I’m going to save you.”


	11. Ch. 10 - The Breakdown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angela tries to deal with her problems by ignoring them, while Hanzo struggles with what to do next.

##  Chapter 10: The Breakdown

Morning came very slowly. By the time the sun began to rise, Angela had given up on trying to get any sleep since whenever she did manage to drift off to sleep, she could hear dragons roaring in her ears which would instantly jar her awake. Thus, she was intent on keeping her mind busy to think of something else - anything else - and meandered to the med lab against Echo’s recommendation. Dark circles hung under her eyes. Her hair was lumpy from having been tied up without care or being brushed. She almost dozed over her prep table when the buzzer for the door went off.

She opened the intercom and groggily spoke into it. “Who is it?”

A peculiarly cheery drawl emanated from the intercom, “Mornin’, doc!”

“Morning, Jesse,” she mumbled and activated the switch to remotely open the door.

“Shouldn’t you be resting? Echo told me you ain’t supposed to be working in the lab for a few days.”

Angela only grunted in response.

Immediately noticing the manner Angela was moving about the lab, McCree walked straight up to her and raised his hands to her face, pulling down on her cheeks slightly to get a better look at her eyes. “Jeezus, did you get any sleep?”

She shook him off and returned to her prep. “No.”

His face turned suspicious. “Did Shimada do something to you again?”

She shook her head. “No.”

He frowned, contorting the thoughtful expression on his face to look angry.

She turned back to him and added, “But he did come by my room to apologize.”

McCree’s eyes immediately lit up, and he consequently failed to keep himself from grinning.

She caught his expression shift and narrowed her eyes. “What did you do?”

“Nothing,” he responded as he twiddled his thumbs.

She wagged a finger at him and scolded, “I may be exhausted, but I don’t have to try hard to notice when you’re up to something. You’re terrible at hiding your cheeky grins from me.” She rolled her eyes and turned back to her instrument table.

“Come on, doc,” he pleaded, walking up to her and resting his hands on her shoulders. “You can’t expect me to just sit on my hands when I see you getting treated like that now, right?”

She smiled despite her exhaustion and patted the metal hand on her left shoulder with her right. “Thank you. I can handle myself.”

He tugged back on her shoulders slightly to get a look at her face. “You sure about that?”

She paused and looked over her shoulder back to him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well.” He scratched the back of his head with his right hand. “You certainly handle yourself around everyone else. But you’re like a whole other person around Shimada.”

“Really…” She turned away.  _ Just like Genji said... _

“Doc?”

“I just need to…” She pushed herself away from her instrument table and began walking away from McCree. “I don’t know.”

She stood there, at a complete loss of how to deal with the recent discovery of her paralyzing fear of the strange power that resided in the elder Shimada. She had seen Genji summon his spirit dragon on several occasions and never felt afraid of it. A marvel of science to create something that went against everything she knew. She remembered it growling. Low and steady. Then she heard it again. Twin dragons roaring. Deafening. She tensed up. Her eyes widened in shock. The lab was melting away into a wild swirl of electric blue and black until she felt a firm hand grip her shoulder.

She snapped back to the present and stared up at McCree in shock.

He stared back at her with intense concern. “Hell, Angie. I’ve never seen you like this before. You look like you just seen a ghost.”

She was still rendered speechless.

He nudged her slightly. “Doc?”

“I need some air!” She shoved her way past McCree and briskly strode out the door.

“Doc!” he called after her.

She frantically tried to shake the visions from her head.  _ I’m losing my mind! What is happening to me?! _

“Angie!” McCree called out again.

She couldn’t hear him as she continued to run down the hall and out of sight.

* * *

Angela huddled into the corner of the women’s locker room. The only way anyone could have found her is if they noticed her feet poking out from behind the last locker in the row.

_Why is this happening now?! It’s been years! _

No. That was not the truth. He summoned his dragons again in Hanamura. The roar they created. It froze her. She lost awareness of her surroundings and almost got herself killed as the Talon dropship lost control and came crashing down. Hanzo had to come to her aid, sustaining severe injury. The thought only made her chest tighten painfully.

The events replayed in her mind. He dove for her as the dropship fell. He pushed her out of harm's way, and she crashed into the water. He immediately dove after her. She remembered choking on seawater as he swam down to her and pulled her back up the surface.

Why was she only recalling this now?

The fear. 

It made her forget. It made her hesitate.

_ The team could have died because of me… He… He almost… _

A tear trickled down her cheek. She wiped it away, only to have another fall.

When was the last time she cried? She could not remember. So many years. Even when she thought she had lost everyone when the Geneva base was destroyed. Not a tear was shed. Of course, she was extremely upset, but her eyes stayed dry. Years of work as a doctor left her desensitized to moments like that. There was never any time for tears.

Her thoughts drifted further into the past. Genji’s near-death experience? No… Her parents’ deaths… The memory brought more tears. Soon, her face was streaked with an unending flow. It was as if her body was making up for all the time she spent holding back tears.

“_Why is this happening? _ ”

Of course, she got no answer.

* * *

McCree knocked on Hanzo’s door. The door slid open, and Hanzo greeted him with a confused expression.

“Howdy,” McCree started.

“McCree was it? May I ask what you are doing here?” Hanzo said with what McCree can best hope is mild annoyance.

“I need to talk to you about Angie.”

“Again?” Mild annoyance turned into irritated frustration.

“Relax. I ain’t interested in giving you trouble, but I need you to answer some questions for me.” McCree tried to posture in a way to give a semblance of calm in the hopes of helping the other man relax.

“About what exactly?”

“Angie’s time back in Hanamura.”

“Why?” Hanzo’s brows knitted together.

Clearly, Hanzo was not going to just “lighten up”, so McCree got straight to the point. “Because unlike you, I give a damn about how she’s holding up right now.”

“I do not understand.” His confusion looked genuine.

McCree struggled to suppress an angry growl that tried to escape his lips. “I just watched one of the most level-headed people I’ve ever known have a mental breakdown right in front of me.”

Hanzo’s hard stare softened.

“So now you’re gonna help me figure this out.” He pushed past Hanzo and took a seat in Hanzo’s desk chair.

Hanzo boggled at him.

“Well?” McCree was clearly not going to take “no” for an answer.

Hanzo worked his mouth around in thought. “It is a long story.”

McCree shrugged. “I got nothing but time.”

Clearly not winning this battle, Hanzo flipped the switch on his door, and it slid shut with a puff. “So what would you like to hear?”

“How ‘bout all of it?” McCree crossed his arms across his chest.

Hanzo considered the length of his tale and decided to take up a seat on the edge of his bed. “Hmm. When I first met Doctor Ziegler, it was a difficult time among my clan. My father had passed some months prior, and my brother and I were growing - had grown distant. I could not let myself show weakness, so I forced myself to stop feeling. 

“It was not until Doctor Ziegler arrived in Hanamura that I began to feel again, albeit that still took some time. Regardless, no matter how curt I was with her, she maintained her professionalism and upheld her duties without fail. I was concerned that the clan elders would dismiss her if I showed any favoritism to her. They did not trust her as she was an outsider.”

McCree had sunk into the chair, right foot over left knee and arms still folded across his chest. “But you did?”

“I did. She took such pride in her work, no matter how menial the task. I could only describe it as admirable.”

McCree simply nodded.

“To the outsider, my name and title appeared impressive, but I had no real power in the clan. I was merely a figurehead - a puppet - and the elders were the puppeteers. Genji urged me countless times to dismantle the elders’ power or simply just leave the clan with him. I always refused. I felt that I owed it to my father to do all that I could to keep the clan from collapsing in on itself. It had been on a steady decline ever since the elders had put all their resources into trying to remove Genji from the equation. Regardless, one can never simply walk away from a Yakuza clan, least of all the  _ Shimada-gumi _ .

“One day, during one of our arguments, Genji slipped in front of one of the elders’ direct pawns. At the peak of his tantrum, he said he would leave the clan and join Overwatch with Doctor Ziegler.”

McCree’s back straightened in response. “She told him?”

Hanzo shook his head. “No. She was diligent. However, as Genji and I were already masters in subterfuge, it would be difficult to completely fool us. Genji had probably gotten her to speak about it often enough to know she was still part of Overwatch, as they were in constant company of each other.” His voice quieted and sped up as he finished that sentence. “I used my intuition. I presume the elders always suspected as well.” He closed his eyes and lowered his head. “However, with Genji’s outburst, the elders had enough reason to detain her.”

Hanzo took a deliberate pause. He was treading on parts of his memory he had tried to shut out for years.

McCree understood why Hanzo had stopped. “Shimada -”

“You asked for the whole story.”

Regret was clearly visible on McCree’s face. “That I did.”

Hanzo screwed up his courage and continued. “I took measures to help her escape, but as you may have figured out, her capture led to the confrontation I had with Genji.” He paused to shake the image from his mind. “We fought. I left Genji for dead, and now, she cannot even look at me.”

“It must irk you that you can’t just come right out and tell her you love her, right?”

Hanzo shot a withering glare at McCree. “You still presume that I have such feelings for Doctor Ziegler?”

“I ain’t presuming nothing. It’s written all over your face.”

“There is nothing ‘written’ on my face.”

McCree rolled his eyes. “You should just tell her.”

“There is nothing to say.”

McCree covered his face with his right hand, and growls, “Shimada, would you just do us all a favor and quit lying to yourself?”

Hanzo gave no response. He simply glared at McCree.

Lowering his hand from his face, McCree returned the glare. “Are you seriously in that much denial?”

Still no response.

McCree heaved a frustrated sigh. “Listen, this ain’t for me. This is for Angie, and while I get that you’ve been up shit-creek more than once, don’t drag Angie along with you.”

“I am not dragging her anywhere.” Hanzo seemed to not completely understand if McCree was using metaphor or if there was an actual place called “Shit Creek”.

McCree’s patience was wearing thin, and he said in a low growl, “You’re missing my point here.”

“Then what is your point?” Hanzo hissed with no attempt to hide his anger or frustration.

McCree snapped. He leapt to his feet and grabbed the collar of Hanzo’s gi. Hanzo leaned back from McCree’s charge.

“Your self-hating is gonna drag her down with you, and I’ll be damned if I let you do that to her.”

“I will be gone soon enough. You will never have to worry about me hurting Doctor Ziegler ever again.”

The way Hanzo’s face fell was not exactly the reaction McCree was expecting. Hanzo dropped his chin and closed his eyes again, but this time, his expression looked so defeated that McCree could not stay angry with him. If there was one thing he could not stand more than seeing someone scared, it was seeing someone so defeated that it would be wrong to kick him while he was down.

“Shimada?” McCree shook him by the shoulder gently.

“You should leave.”

“Only if you agree to try to fix this.”

Hanzo raised his eyes to McCree’s, as though begging for an answer. “She will never see me as anything other than a monster.”

McCree felt a pang in his chest that hit a little too close to home. “Shimada, you ain’t a monster.”

Hanzo’s gaze is still as pitiful as ever.

“I’ve done my share of dirty deeds in the past that I ain’t proud of. But I ain’t gonna let them define me or dictate the way I’m gonna live my life now. And you shouldn’t neither.”

Hanzo hangs his head again.

“All I can say is that you’re gonna have to learn to move on. Either pick up the pieces that are broken and fix ‘em, or toss ‘em out and try something new.”

“Do not try to act as though you understand me,” Hanzo muttered.

And just like that, McCree’s empathy had run out. McCree stood upright, hooked his thumbs in his belt, and glared down at Hanzo. “Alright, Mister Big Yakuza Boss-man, but I reckon you recall Blackwatch, right?”

He raised his head and made direct eye contact with McCree. “The covert ops division of Overwatch.”

“You’re looking at one of their best. And it weren’t for my charm or good looks neither.”

Hanzo minimally quirked a brow, doubtful.

“Figured you wouldn’t believe me. And quite frankly, I don’t care if you do.” McCree leaned back down and jabbed a metal finger into Hanzo’s chest. “But you best believe that I’m gonna keep hounding you ‘til you make your damned-est effort to set things right with Angie.”

The predatory glint returned to McCree’s stare. 

Hanzo lowered his head. Twice within the span of a couple of days, McCree has barged into his space and “convinced” him to approach Angela. Any other time, any other day, he would not have entertained the idea of listening to McCree. But Hanzo was in no place to tempt fate and try to force McCree out of his room. He was still in poor shape.

“At the very least, I will need to get some rest before venturing out on this quest you have tasked me with.”

McCree shook his head in exasperation. “Fine. I’ll show myself out.”

As soon as the door closed behind McCree, Hanzo buried his face in his hands.

_ She is never going to speak to me again. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This current string of chapters are of the oldest ones I've written, so I'm struggling with making sure they're consistent. Hopefully, I can make it through these without too much trouble.


	12. Ch. 11 - Never Finding Rest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will Angela and Hanzo finally overcome their differences?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woops... I forgot to fill in the summary and chapter title... o_o

## Chapter 11: Never Finding Rest

Angela woke to the feeling of her arm being jostled. Wiping the grime from her eyes, she saw Brigitte’s face come into focus.

“Hey, Angela,” she smiled warmly.

“Hello, Brigitte. What time is it?” Angela rubbed her eyes again.

“Around 2 P.M. You missed lunch.”

Angela looked at her confused.

“Reinhardt, Mei, and I made some sandwiches, and we called everyone to the mess hall to dig in. You and Hanzo were the only ones missing.”

Angela involuntarily reacted to Hanzo’s name. “Oh.”

Deciding it better not to ask, Brigitte said instead, “I think there’s still a couple left. Would you like me to go get one for you?”

Angela shook her head. “I’m not hungry.”

Brigitte studied Angela with concern. “If you want to talk, I’ll listen.”

Angela remained silent.

“Or you don’t have to talk, but I’ll stay with you, if you want me to.” Brigitte wrapped a hand firmly around Angela’s.

Angela nods slowly in response and reciprocates the action.

* * *

It took some coaxing, but Brigitte managed to get Angela back to her dorm to wash her face and sleep. Brigitte stared at Angela’s tired face with concern. The whole situation felt extremely surreal. Never once had Brigitte witnessed Angela fall apart like this. Angela had always been the level-headed older-sister figure. Of course, Brigitte had seen Angela get emotional before, but this was different. She had completely shut down, almost catatonic.

By the time Angela woke up, the sun had long since set. Not even a trace of twilight peered through the window. Brigitte had left, but McCree was dozing in Angela’s console chair, hat pulled down over his eyes and his torso tipping precariously over to his right.

_ I guess she didn’t want me to be alone. Probably a good idea. _ Angela quietly slipped out of bed and stepped over to McCree. 

She reached out and jostled his shoulder slightly.

The ensuing gasp, tumble, and groan almost brought a grin to Angela’s face, but she still felt too sullen to smile.

“Damn. Scared the living daylights out of me,” grumbled McCree as he picked himself up off the ground, grabbed his hat and put it back on.

Angela only stared at him.

Noticing the puffiness of her eyes and the lack of sparkle in them, he asked, “You’ve been crying, haven’t you?

She didn’t respond.

He stepped up to her. “You need to talk to him.”

“No.” She didn’t even blink.

His brow furrowed. “This ain’t gonna go away.”

“I don’t care.” She began to turn away.

He grabbed her arm and pulled her back. “Angie, this ain’t like you.”

She refused to face him. “I can’t just forget what he did.”

“He saved your life. Saved the team,” he pleaded.

Angela closed her eyes and yanked her arm out of his grasp, stomping as she turned away and folded her arms across her chest. “And you think that makes up for what he’s done?!”

“No, but I _ think _he’s at least trying to make up for it, even though he believes he never can.”

She sighed angrily as she spun around to face him and asked in frustration, “So what do you want from _ me _?”

He rubbed the back of his neck as he worked his mouth around in thought. “I don’t know, Angie. Just talk to him.”

She closed her eyes again. “I don’t know if I can.”

“Please, Angie. Just try. He’s not here to cause trouble. Not intentionally anyway.”

“Why are you asking me to do this?” She raised her eyes to his.

He placed his hands on her shoulders. “‘Cause I want my friend back.”

* * *

Genji and Hanzo had taken up residence on one of the observation decks that looked out over the sea. While Hanzo chose to look out over the dimly starlit water, Genji faced the opposite way, leaning back onto the railing propped up on his elbows.

“This is a mistake, Genji,” Hanzo grumbled in his typical stiff Japanese, folding his arms across his chest.

Genji tilted his head to look at his brother without needing to turn the rest of his body and asked flatly in the same tongue, “Why?”

“You know why.”

“It’s been ten years.”

“You keep saying that.”

“And you keep letting something that happened ten years ago dictate the way you live your life now,” remarked Genji as he rolled his eyes.

Hanzo shut his eyes as his eyebrows pinched together. “No one will forget.”

“But people can forgive, as I already have.”

Hanzo kept his eyes closed and muttered, “I am undeserving.”

Genji glared at him in frustrated silence until the comm in his visor beeped. “Well, they’re on their way. Whether or not you believe you deserve it, you still have a chance to ask for forgiveness.” He leaned over and set a hand on Hanzo’s shoulder and squeezed it firmly. “And I suggest you take it.”

The cyborg withdrew his hand and the two of them remained in uneasy silence until McCree came into view with Angela in tow.

“You’re not going to run away, are you?” Genji asked snidely.

Hanzo glared at him. “I am not going anywhere.”

“Good.” It was easy to hear the smile in Genji’s voice as he took his leave to intercept the approaching pair.

Hanzo only frowned in response.

“Is he ready to talk?” McCree started as Genji came to a stop.

“Maybe. He’s as ready as he’ll ever be, I suppose,” Genji answered, turning to look back at his brother who was, true to his word, still in the same spot, facing out over the water.

“Let’s just get this over with,” Angela murmured.

Genji shifted his weight uneasily and turned to lead them to the deck.

Hanzo noticed that all three of them were moving together as a group toward him, and he was not about to potentially bare his soul in front of an audience. He stepped up to the entryway of the immediate space to block their path.

“I will speak with Doctor Ziegler alone,” he declared.

McCree and Genji exchanged glances.

Hanzo’s eyes narrowed. “That was not a request.”

McCree turned to Angela who looked as though she was ready to bolt at the first opportunity. The tone of Hanzo’s voice struck a nerve with Angela, and she started to shuffle her feet nervously, eyes flitting back and forth between McCree and Genji. Hanzo noticed this and immediately shifted gears.

“I know you have no reason to trust me,” he spoke directly to Angela in a gentler tone. “However, I would not have risked my life to save yours only to foolishly try to harm you now, especially in my current state.”

McCree and Genji exchanged glances again, but Hanzo ignored them. He only looked at Angela. She merely stood there, silently staring back at him. After a painfully long moment, Angela reached forward and placed her hands on McCree and Genji’s shoulders.

“It’s okay,” she said softly. “I can do this.”

“Are you sure?” Genji asked.

“Yes. I’ll be fine,” she confirmed.

“We’ll be close by,” McCree reassured her, and she nodded in return.

McCree turned and started to make his way down the hallway, but Genji lingered a moment. Even though his face was covered, it was clear that Genji was staring down his brother as if to say, “Don’t mess this up.” Genji then turned stiffly on his heel and followed McCree down the hall.

Hanzo stepped aside to allow Angela to pass. There happened to be a pair of chairs in the far corner, so she decided to take a seat in the one closer to the railing. She looked out over the water, trying to ignore the increasingly agonizing prickle in her throat which is spreading down her back and chest. The visions of dragons keep flashing in front of her.

Now that they were finally alone, Hanzo couldn’t find the words to start. There were so many things he wanted to say to Angela over the years. Should he explain how much he wished he could take back his fight with Genji? Should he tell her how many times he thought about trying to reach out to her? What about their final exchange in the hidden chamber before he screwed it all up?

In his loss for words on how to start, he finally noticed that Angela’s hair was not tied up in its usual ponytail. It was not all that glamorous to behold since it quirked at unruly angles, but he studied every inch of it all the same. It was shorter back then, stopping just shy of her shoulders. Now it stretched down her neck, over her shoulders, and almost halfway down her upper arms. He could only remember one other time he had seen her with her hair down: The time he tried to save her from his clan.

Before he got himself tangled up in aiding Overwatch in Hanamura…

Before he exiled himself from his home…

Before he thought he ended the life of his own brother…

At great risk to himself, with no thought of reward, in the underbelly of his clan, scattering his house of cards…

He had forsaken everything to save her…

And yet, for all he did to protect her, he still found a way to make her look at him like he was a monster… 

… And he felt it was deservingly so.

Her recoiling touch… Her evasive looks… 

The telltale rumble in his tattooed arm began to churn.

“Shimada?”

Hanzo jerked back to the present and cursed under his breath in Japanese, realizing that he had probably been standing there mute for the better part of a minute lost in his thoughts. Angela was now leaning forward in her seat with a slightly puzzled look on her face. 

In as calm a voice as he could muster, he explained, “I am having some difficulty sorting my thoughts.”

Angela bobbed her head in acknowledgment.

He took another few moments to choose words he deemed acceptable and took a deep breath.

“I suppose I should start with an apology. I am sorry for hurting you all those years ago, and I am painfully aware that a mere apology is not enough. I can only hope that you may accept my apology and that it may one day bring you a little closure. I understand if you never forgive me. In fact, I do not blame you if you hate me for the rest of my days.”

She looked at him intently. “Hate?”

He looked at her expectantly, but she lowered her gaze and turned away.

She pondered exactly what her feelings were. _ Do I hate him? No… that’s not right. I was angry at him. Frightened by what he did… _Her thoughts continue to whirl with blue dragons. They are now circling around her.

“Doctor Ziegler, were you going to say something?” Hanzo’s voice was tentative, trying to anticipate what she might say next.

She wrung her hands together. “Shimada… What you did was unspeakable, but I don’t hate you.”

He blinked in confusion. “Then… Then why all of this?” He took a couple steps forward as he continued. “Why have you been acting this way around me ever since my arrival?”

She recoiled slightly. “What exactly were you expecting? The last time I saw you, you had killed at least half a dozen men without a second thought. Did you expect me to welcome you with open arms?”

“They were going to kill you.” He tried to keep his voice restrained, but it still cracked slightly.

“You didn’t have to kill them.” The intensity of her voice grew. She curled her fingers around the edge of her seat and dug her heels into the ground.

“You do not know what those men were capable of. If I -”

“No one deserves to have their life taken away from them!” Her voice turned shrill.

“The dragons judged them unworthy.”

A look of revulsion crept onto her face. “How can you believe that makes it right?”

Something inside his mind snapped. “Then what would you have me do? Should I have let them take you again?! Let them torture you?! _ Let them kill you?! _”

She leapt to her feet. “_ You almost killed Genji! _”

The rumble returned, only this time Angela could hear it.

She recoiled. “What is that?”

Hanzo’s eyes started to burn with a blue flame, prompting Angela to back away from him. His voice came back quieter but almost echoing as though there were two voices talking in unison. “Do you believe I wanted to kill them? To hurt Genji?” The blue glow spread until he was completely engulfed in it. “They were my own kin.” He took slow measured steps toward her.

Angela stepped back and fell back into her seat.

“I am loath to admit I lost control. The power of the dragons took over. Perhaps those men did not deserve their fate. Genji most certainly did not, and I have you to thank for giving me the chance to make it up to him.” Not more than a foot from Angela’s seat, Hanzo lowered himself to one knee. “The years I spent believing that I ended my brother’s life made me realize that I could not lose control like that ever again.”

He slowly reached for one of Angela’s hands and took it into his. She almost yanked her hand back, but not before realizing that even though Hanzo looked like he was on fire, there was no burning heat, just a comfortable warmth.

“I would give almost anything to take back what I had done that night.” A metered pause. “Almost anything.”

Suppressing the urge to knock Hanzo out of the way and making a run for it, Angela asked, “Why almost?”

“I would rather endure your scorn for eternity, than let you die at the hands of my kin.”

After a momentary look of shock faded from Angela’s face, she closed her eyes and lowered her head. She could have sworn she could hear the roar of the dragons, feel their scales brushing against her skin, stinging and burning. She ran her free hand over where she imagined the burns would be. 

She raised her eyes to Hanzo’s once again…

… Only to receive the scare of her life.

The roar she heard was, in fact, Hanzo’s dragons being summoned. However, the burning sensation she felt was not from them, but rather her overactive imagination. The dragons only radiated a soothing warmth, similar to Hanzo’s aura. Even though Angela could feel her chest tighten in fear, she could not help but admire just how beautiful the dragons were up close. They slowly circled them, their scales undulating in steady blue waves. 

Angela shook her head. “I’ll say it again, Shimada.” She took a deep breath. “I don’t hate you.”

Hanzo lowered his gaze. “Then why do you recoil?”

She pulled her shoulders in and closed her eyes. After a particularly long awkward silence, she raised her eyes to Hanzo once again and sighed in defeat, “Because I’m scared of you.”

Hanzo’s expression was not exactly what she expected. She half expected him to scoff. Instead, she was met with empathetic sadness. “I understand. You were the first not of the Shimada clan to witness the dragons and survive.”

A chill shuddered down her spine.

“But you must understand. They will never harm you.”

“I find that hard to believe.” She eyed the dragons around them warily.

Hanzo looked thoughtfully at her, “I admit it. I gave into my rage. But even through all that blinded me, there was one point of clarity in all of it.”

“And what was that?”

“You.”

“Stop.”

Hanzo looked confused. “Stop what?”

Angela shook her head again. “Stop making this about me.”

“But you are the center of all of this.”

Stomping to her feet, she loomed over Hanzo. “Why? Why me?”

Hanzo slowly rose to his feet. “Do you not know?”

“No. No no no no no.” She shook her head violently. “You can’t possibly expect me to believe that you...”

The look on Hanzo’s face kept her from saying anything else.

“It did not happen immediately. However, I began to notice my thoughts were often wandering to you. I tried to distract my mind with other tasks, but with each passing day, it became decidedly harder to not think about you. Until one day, I realized I could not stop thinking about you.”

“_No! _ ” Angela spat out. Her voice was piercing and frenetic. “_You do not get to do this to me! _”

The blue haze faded from around Hanzo as did the twin dragon spirits.

“Do you have any idea how I’ve felt all these years?! I had to shut out all memory of you! I believed you were dead!”

Hanzo took a step back. Angela’s face was turning red and tears began to gather at the corners of her eyes.

“Do you even have the faintest clue about what was going through my mind that night?!” Angela gripped the sides of her head with her hands. “Do you know what it feels like to fall for someone only to see them turn into your worst nightmare?”

After a moment, Angela felt a pair of arms stretch over her shoulders, and she immediately tried to pull away.

“_NO! _”

But they didn’t stop. She kept trying to push Hanzo away, even going so far as to beat her fists into his chest, but he did not relent. Finally, she willed enough strength to shove him completely away from her.

“_Get. Away. From. Me! _” she screamed and immediately fled.

* * *

McCree and Genji had retreated down the hall just far enough to hear shouting, but not actually hear what was being shouted. At least not until they heard Angela scream and saw her sprinting directly toward them. McCree grabbed her before she could get past them. She immediately crumpled in his arms and outright started bawling into his shoulder. McCree gestured to Genji to check on Hanzo, to which Genji bolted down the hall toward the observation deck, and then helped Angela find a more private place to talk.

Genji slid to a stop just outside of the deck area.

“Brother?” He took a couple steps through the entryway.

Hanzo slowly turned his head to glare at Genji. “Are you satisfied?”

“Brother, I didn’t -”

“Enough.” Hanzo stalked his way past Genji and started down the hallway opposite the direction Angela ran. “I. Am. Done.”

Genji tried to reach out to Hanzo. “But your stitches -”

“I will manage it myself.”

Genji let his hand drop. He couldn’t think of anything to say to get his older brother to stop. However, before Hanzo got too far, he stopped and sighed.

Over his shoulder, Hanzo said aloud to his brother, “For what it is worth, Genji, I appreciate that you tried.”

* * *

McCree helped Angela back to her room and sat her down on her bed. Her breathing was already evening out, and she wiped her face clean of the grime that built up.

“Alright. What happened?” he asked as he pulled her console chair up and took a seat.

“I couldn’t do it.” She kept her face down, and her voice wavered and she choked slightly as she said “it.”

His mouth twisted in confusion. “Couldn’t do what, exactly?”

“I couldn’t let go of what he did.” She sniffed as she rubbed her nose one last time.

“Why?”

“What do you mean, ‘why’?”

McCree shifted in his seat to lean forward propping himself up with his hands on his knees. “Angie, I’ve seen you fight tooth and nail for worse people in the past. Why is Hanzo any different?”

She shuddered and closed her eyes at the sound of that name. “If you saw what had happened, you would know.”

His eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Don’t you think you’re making this a bit personal?”

“It doesn’t matter. He’ll be gone soon.” She folded her hands in her lap and stared down at them.

_ Where have I heard that before… _ He had to muster all his strength to keep from rolling his eyes as he leaned back, taking his weight off his knees. “So that’s it then? You’re just gonna give up?”

She sat there in silence.

He shook his head unbelievingly. “This ain’t like you, Angie.”

“People change,” she muttered and finally lifted her eyes to his.

“The Angie I knew would have kept trying to set this right.” 

“Sorry to disappoint.” She lowered her eyes again.

He took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. The perplexed expression on his face grew more confused as he tried to discern exactly what was going through his friend’s mind. She was behaving completely out of character, self-destructive even (more than usual), and he wanted nothing more than to understand what was happening to her.

“Angie, we need you. Overwatch needs you. But -” He paused thoughtfully. “- not this you.”

She didn’t even flinch.

He stood from his seat and cast a disappointed look at her. “If this is really how it’s gonna be with you now, then maybe you shouldn’t be here.”

Nothing.

He could only shake his head in defeat and left her to the dead silence of the room.


	13. Ch. 12 - Reconstruct

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hanzo and Angela contemplate their current situations and how to move forward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, a new chapter! So many details of the current chapters in the works had to be redone for continuity purposes (considering old and new details in the canon lore, along with plotholes that existed in the first place).

##  Chapter 12: Reconstruct

In the wake of the fiasco between Hanzo and Angela, Hanzo decided to make every effort to ensure he would avoid any chance occurrences of running into the Swiss Doctor. The night ended in such a disaster, and he fervently wanted to avoid a repeat along with finding out how the rest of the Overwatch team would react to his presence now. He kept well away from any public areas and, of course, the med lab. He would even ask Athena to confirm that no one was around the commissary so that he could go and retrieve ration packs when he felt hungry. Even Genji also aided Hanzo in his mission to remain unseen, especially if it meant the elder Shimada would stick around a while longer. Apart from warding off starvation, Hanzo was keen on getting back into top physical form. And so, the archer would creep into the practice range at night to do some exercising. His bow and quiver were still locked away, so archery practice was out of the question. Instead, he would simply clock in a few miles of jogging on the treadmill and exercise with some free weights.

Day one and two following their argument, Hanzo repeated this routine. By the third day without a single Angela-sighting, Hanzo began to feel an odd combined state of relief and worry: relieved not to face the major source of his current anxieties, but worried that he had not even caught a hint of her at all. Even with avoiding all of her usual locations, he would have imagined seeing her passing at a distance at least once. His reaction then would be vaguely akin to ducking around a corner to avoid being seen. However, even that was not the case.

Night had long since fallen when the doorbell rang out in the dead silence that had settled into Hanzo’s room. He stood from his console, where he was planning his return to Japan, and warily approached his door.

Pressing the button, he spoke into the intercom, “Who is there?”

“Hanzo, it’s Lena! I have your request,” Lena’s voice chirped through the speaker.

Of course, Lena said she would return in a few days. He had completely forgotten.

“Hanzo?” she addressed him after waiting a few moments without a reply.

He quickly pressed the button to open the door and let her in.

Lena stepped into the room with a few boxes in her hands. She flashed over to the table in the middle of the room and placed them on top carefully.

“Now, I wasn’t sure what color you’d like, but Emily pointed these out to me and I felt that they were just the thing for you.” She stepped back and faced him. “See for yourself!”

_ Emily? Was there someone on base I have not seen yet? _ Pushing the thought aside, he approached the table and looked at the boxes she presented. There were three, one fairly smaller than the other two. He decided to start with the smallest box. The label on it read “Organic Matcha”. He looked up at Lena who smiled.

“I hope that tea lives up to your standards.”

“I am sure it will suffice,” he replied as politely as he could.

The next box housed a simple pestle and mortar set with a strainer. The last and largest box contained a lovely white porcelain teapot with a natural wooden handle on top and four handleless cups set in a beautifully crafted wooden box.

Hanzo felt a deep swell of gratitude and struggled to keep his face from showing it.

“So what do you think? Do you like them?” Lena asked.

He finally let himself smile ever so slightly. “Yes. These are just what I needed.”

She beamed brightly. “Wonderful! I’m so glad you like them! Emily will be thrilled!”

_ That name again. _ “Who is Emily?”

“Oh, right! I never explained!” She bopped herself on the forehead lightly. “Emily is my girlfriend. I travel back to London to visit her when I can, and sometimes I bring her here to celebrate the holidays with the rest of the team.”

He nodded stiffly. “Please send her my thanks.”

“Sure thing!” She turned to leave but stopped having remembered something. She fished a card from her pocket and held it out to him. “Here’s your card back. We used it to pay for the tea set, but the pestle, mortar, and tea are a gift from us.”

He took the card back and made a face. “That was unnecessary.”

She crossed her arms and pouted angrily.

Reading her body language, he added, “But you have my thanks.”

The pout was replaced with a smile, and Lena replied, “You’re most welcome!” She then turned to leave and called out over her shoulder, “Hope you enjoy the tea! See you around, love.”

_ Love? _ Hanzo made a face before turning to the boxes on the table once again.

Hanzo set to work washing everything to be ready to use. The extra cups were left in their original case, and the rest was rinsed in the sink and placed on the counter to dry. Using one of the smaller pots he snatched from the commissary a couple of days ago, he boiled some water and poured it into his brand new teapot.

As he let the  _ matcha _ steep, he sunk into his console chair, set a timer for three minutes, and returned to planning his journey back home.

_ Home… _

Was it really home anymore?

Genji’s words from the other day never left his thoughts. It started out subtle, like whispers, but they grew more and more pronounced as he spent more time in solitude. He had been so fixated on restoring his honor through duty to his family name that he had lost sight of what he had been trying to achieve. He wanted redemption from the sins he committed in the past, most particularly what he did to Genji. He can’t find the redemption he seeks if he turns away from his brother again, not to mention the woman who saved him. Also, Lena’s unexpectedly kind hospitality left him feeling compelled to find a way to return the favor she granted him.

The timer on the console beeped, alerting Hanzo his tea was ready.

* * *

Angela sank into her console chair in her studio and let out a heavy sigh. She spent the last couple of days busying herself with her personal projects and staying in her personal space as much as possible in order to avoid thinking about what McCree had said to her. And yet, every time his words crossed her mind, she grew angrier and angrier with herself. She was essentially doing the very thing she had always preached against, ignoring the problem instead of doing something about it.

Had she truly changed? Did she really want to leave things the way they were with Hanzo? Had she lost the will to fight?

No.

She wasn’t ready to leave Overwatch. She didn’t have anywhere else where she felt like she belonged. Overwatch was her family, and she had to protect them. She had to find a way to conquer this.

Just as she was about to grab her comm, her doorbell rang.

_ Who could that be? _

She turned to her console and hit a button on her desk. A small holoscreen blinked to life and showed who was standing at her door. She recoiled seeing who it was, as a sudden tightness gripped her chest. Tentatively, she reached over to the intercom switch on her desk and turned it on.

“Shimada, what are you doing here?”

His image blinked in surprise, probably not expecting the resident to know who was at the door. He regained his composure and answered, “There is something I wish to discuss with you.”

An unexpected wave of exhaustion hit her the moment she heard Hanzo’s voice. She was intent on going to him to talk, but she was certainly not expecting Hanzo to take the initiative. This unexpected twist shocked the tenuous resolve she had mustered into nonexistence and left her struggling to find her voice.

“Now? At this hour?” she finally replied.

Hanzo did his best to respond firmly, “My apologies, but this cannot wait.”

She sighed and reluctantly stood up to unlock the door. Hanzo’s visage came into view, and she greeted him coarsely, “So what did you want to discuss with me?”

Hanzo gestured, extending his arm. “May I come in?”

She frowned, but still took a step back to let him in. “Sure. Have a seat.” She turned around to walk back to her desk and took a seat in her console chair.

He followed her into the room, but stopped a few steps in, and took a look around. Her studio seemed surprisingly cozy. There was a clutter of medical journals in a small bookshelf along the far wall next to her desk. Her bed was unmade. A few e-readers were stacked on her nightstand. Her lab coat draped over a coffee table that was also covered with some other knick-knacks. Her dresser stood at the foot of her bed, just like his own. Overall, not messy, but still a stark contrast from how sterile his own studio was.

He spotted a small table to the side that was accompanied by a chair. He walked over to the empty chair, turned it around, and sat down. Looking over at Angela, he saw that she had sunk lower into her seat with her arms folded in front of her and her legs crossed.

He cleared his throat in an attempt to remove the awkward silence that had settled, but to little effect. In the last couple hours prior to his knocking on Angela’s door, Hanzo tried to psych himself up, rehearsing exactly what he wanted to say to Angela several times. Now that he was here, he struggled to form the words in his mouth. His host looked about ready to ask him to leave when he finally found his voice and began, “I have been thinking about the effect my presence has had on you and the rest of the team.”

She only stared at him in silence. The tension in her chest made it difficult for her to even think of anything to say.

He gauged her reaction, or lack thereof, and decided it was best to just continue as he had rehearsed. “I am well aware that I am not the most welcome individual here, but I realized that there are some things that I have overlooked for years. And now suddenly, I have been presented with the opportunity to set things right for not just myself but for Genji as well.”

Angela lowered her head and turned away.

Hanzo felt his confidence slipping, but he continued, “That being said. I can see that my arrival has only complicated matters for you. You are by far the singular most valuable asset to this organization, and my presence appears to only hinder your performance.” He stood from his seat. “Which is something that I cannot allow.”

Her head snapped up in surprise, and she fixed her eyes on him.

“I truly wish to stay and repair my relationship with Genji. However, if you are against such an arrangement, I will honor your choice and take my leave as soon as I am cleared to do so.”

She only continued to stare in silence, waiting for what Hanzo was going to say next.

Misinterpreting her silence, his heart sank. He believed his efforts did not move her, and he turned to leave.

“Wait.” She clamored out of her seat before he made it to the door.

He paused and turned to look back over his shoulder at her, as she came to a stop a couple of yards from him.

“Yes?” he asked as he turned to face her properly.

She hesitated a moment before asking, “If you were to leave now, where would you go?”

“To Japan,” he answered immediately.

She blinked. “Hanamura?”

“Yes.”

She was perturbed by how calmly he answered her. He was so sure. Not even the slightest hint of uncertainty that riddled his speech moments ago. Did he have any doubts about how his future would play out if he returned to that place? Did he  _ want  _ to return to Japan? What exactly  _ was _ he thinking? “But Talon is there. And your old enemies. You would be alone.”

“I have been alone for years.”

A pang struck her in the heart as she heard those words. “You could die alone.” Her voice quavered as she spoke.

His voice did not. “I do not fear death.”

Angela shook her head in response. The tension in her chest spread had spread to her gut, twisting it painfully in anxiety. “No. No no no. You can’t go-”

She stopped herself as the word “go” hit her lips.

Hanzo blinked, unsure if he heard her correctly. “Doctor Ziegler?”

She wrung her hands together in discomfort and lowered her gaze, trying to formulate what she was going to say next. She pulled her hands up close to her chest, hoping the pressure from her hands could alleviate the tension she was feeling.

_ Why is this so hard? This tightness in my chest won’t go away. _

Sensing that something was wrong, Hanzo extended a hand toward her but stopped himself before he actually touched her.

“Doctor Ziegler, what were you going to say?” he asked her quietly.

Slowly, she raised her head. “Shimada…” She took a deep breath and held it a beat that felt like an eternity before finally saying, “Please don’t go.”

* * *

Hanzo perched himself on the comm tower as he did so the other day. The cool morning breeze helped wake him up for the day, along with taking in the peaceful view of the horizon dotted with the occasional ship.

“So, are you done hiding?” Genji quipped as he reached the top of his climb up the tower.

“What do you want, Genji?” Hanzo remained, looking out over the water.

Genji huffed as he pulled himself up. “No ‘hello’?”

Hanzo leered at Genji out of the corner of his eye.

Genji parked himself next to his brother. “How are you feeling?”

“I am fine,” Hanzo replied unconvincingly as he closed his eyes again.

Genji leaned forward to get a better look at Hanzo’s face. “You don’t look ‘fine’.”

“What does it matter to you?” the elder Shimada grumbled.

“It matters to me because I worry about you.”

Hanzo almost snorted. “You? Worry about me?”

Genji sighed. “I know I wasn’t the most present younger brother, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t care about you.”

“You only cared when it was convenient.”

“That’s not true,” Genji complained.

Hanzo leered at Genji again.

Genji threw his hands up. “Okay, fine. I was pretty terrible at expressing how I felt most of the time around you… and the elders.” He tagged on “and the elders” with a little bit of a sneer in his voice.

Hanzo let out a hmph and turned his attention forward again.

Genji placed a firm hand on Hanzo’s shoulder. “But you are my brother, and all I want for you is to be happy. Nothing will change that.”

“Happiness is beyond my grasp, Genji.” Hanzo turned his head away, letting out a long exhale.

Genji leaned forward and toward his brother. “When are you going to -” He noticed blood seeping through the right side of Hanzo’s  _ gi _ . “Brother, you’re bleeding.”

Hanzo looked down at his side. “Damn it.” He pulled his  _ gi _ back to see the sutures had ripped. “They must have ripped when I was climbing the tower…”

“You better have Angela look at that -”

“Enough, Genji.” Hanzo glowered and folded his gi over again. “I will take care of it myself.” He stood up with a huff and turned to scale down the tower.

Genji lunged for Hanzo before he could start climbing down. As Genji grabbed Hanzo’s shoulder and spun him around, Hanzo moved to counter with his left hand, but Genji was ready and blocked Hanzo’s strike.

Tightening his grip on Hanzo’s wrist, Genji asked sternly, “Do you really think avoiding Angela is the answer?”

Hanzo tried to pull his hand back but failed. “Possibly.”

“But why?” Genji retaliated. “You still have feelings for her. This isn’t fair to either of you.”

Hanzo rolled his eyes. He was getting tired of hearing that excuse. “That does not matter.” Hanzo tried to pull his hand back one more time.

Genji grit his teeth. “How?! Explain to me how that doesn’t matter?!”

“She will never return those feelings.” Hanzo shoved Genji hard with his right hand, doing no favors to his ripped sutures, and finally pried his wrist from Genji’s iron grip.

“You don’t know that,” Genji growled. “Have you even tried?!”

“How can you even ask that after what happened the other night?!” Hanzo shouted with more force than he intended.

Genji backed away instinctively.

Hanzo clenched his fists at his sides. “I even approached her last night to talk. She was still apprehensive of me, and I am certain she wants nothing to do with me, regardless of her asking me to stay.”

Genji froze. “She asked you to stay?”

Hanzo realized that it was extremely unlikely anyone else would know about the exchange he and Angela had last night.

Genji leaned forward. “What did you say?”

“I…” Hanzo looked away. “I said I would consider it.”

Although Genji made no change in posture or any movement at all, for that matter, the stillness that followed actually made Hanzo feel uneasy.

When Genji finally spoke, his voice sounded unnatural (more than usual), “You said you would  _ ‘consider it’ _ ?”

Hanzo nodded.

“ _ What the hell is wrong with you?! _ ” shouted Genji.

Hanzo responded calmly, “I am not here to make amends with Doctor Ziegler. How many times do I have to explain that to you?”

“Just say ‘yes’ or ‘no’!”

“Genji.” Hanzo straightened his back and looked his brother dead in the eye. “What is this even all about? Do you want me here to fix  _ our  _ broken past? Or are you simply trying to set me up with Doctor Ziegler just as you did before?”

“Brother. Dwelling in the past won’t solve anything. Why can’t you look to the future?”

“Answer my question.”

Genji fell silent for a moment. After some hesitation, he threw his arms around Hanzo’s neck and hugged his older brother tightly.

“Genji…” Hanzo uttered quietly.

“I want us to be brothers again, the way we were when we were children.”

“I…” Hanzo’s voice went quiet.

The lack of reciprocation continued, and Genji grew crestfallen. As the silence dragged on, he began to let his arms drop. However, to his surprise, a pair of arms wrapped around his waist, and he froze in shock.

Hanzo finally spoke again, “… I want the same.”

Genji tightened the hug for a few moments to let it all sink in and then pulled back, both hands still on Hanzo’s shoulders. “Then in the effort of trying to be a better brother, I offer the suggestion that you start thinking more of your own wellbeing…”

Immediately aware of where this is going and regretting his decision to return Genji’s hug, Hanzo grumbled, “Genji… If you think for one second-”

“And get those stitches checked,” Genji added.

Hanzo’s eyes slanted downward. “Tch.” A twinge in Hanzo’s side forced him to look down at the growing bloodstain and grumbled, “Fine, I will get them properly checked. And you better wipe that grin off of your face. I may not be able to see it, but I know it is there.”

“Never,” Genji replied cheekily and bolted.

Hanzo grumbled and shook his head, deciding it best to not give chase as his right side twinged in pain.

* * *

Angela made her way to the med lab before it got too late in the morning, eager to get back to work in a proper lab. She was finally able to get a good night’s sleep after a couple of sleepless nights beforehand. As she passed the observation deck where she and Hanzo argued the other night, she paused for a moment. The memory of Hanzo summoning his spirit dragons sped up her heartbeat slightly, but not in the way she expected. There was no chill of terror. No urge to run away in fear. However, she felt her chest tighten slightly as it did the night before.

Shaking her head, she continued on her way to the med lab. She pulled out her datapad and took to studying it as she strolled along. Once she arrived at the med lab, she paused at the door scrolling through a few menus before finally proceeding. Just as she was about to enter the code to unlock the med lab, someone walked into her from the side.

“Hey!” She turned to see who bumped into her.

Hanzo had backed away, face slowly losing color, remembering what happened the last time he accidentally collided with her.

She immediately reset and backed away as well.

“Shimada. What are you doing here?”

“I was - eh - looking for you.”

Her eyebrows pinched together slightly. “Why?” She noticed that Hanzo’s hair was falling a little loose and his clothes were disheveled. “Is everything all right?”

He hesitated a moment and pulled his  _ gi _ open to show his right side. “I - eh… I tore my stitches.”

“What?” She looked down at his side and saw his  _ gi _ was stained with blood and a red smear streaked his side. “ _ Mein Gott. _ ” She hurried to unlock the door and led him toward the examination table. “Here. Carefully remove your  _ gi _ and lie down.”

He sat down on the examination table and carefully undressed so as not to pull on his broken skin more. As he eased himself back onto the table, she returned to him, properly prepped, and with her suture kit. As she hovered over him, he caught the nostalgic fragrance of sakura once again.

“So, how did this happen?” she asked, jarring him to the present. She was gently cleansing the blood from his side. 

“I am not sure,” he answered quietly. “I may have torn my stitches climbing the communications tower…”

She paused and turned her eyes to his face slowly. “What?”

He recoiled slightly.

“You said you weren’t sure. Is there anything else I should be aware of?” she continued in a low voice.

He felt it best not to tell her about the tussle he had with Genji. “No...”

She tapped her foot in an aggravated matter before sighing in exasperation and turning to ready her needle. “Heaven’s sake. You’re impossible. You know that?”

“My apologies.”

Hanzo was not sure if Angela even noticed, but compared to the other day, her hands were steady as she worked on his sutures. After his sutures were restitched and now properly dressed, Angela fetched a biotic emitter from one of her cabinets and placed it next to Hanzo.

“Okay, sit up, slowly. I need to check your back for the bruising it sustained before.” He hoisted himself up to his elbows, then completely upright.

She patted him on his right knee. “Turn your knees to the left, please.” Hanzo did so.

She put her stethoscope on and put it to his back. The cold metal made him flinch slightly.

“Deep breath in -,” she instructed.

He inhaled deeply-

“- and out.”

\- and exhaled slowly.

“Apart from your side, are you experiencing any other pain? One more deep breath.” She ran a gloved hand down his back to check for any abnormal swelling.

Hanzo repeated the breathing exercise.

“Some discomfort in my lower back. Not so much pain.”

“Last deep breath. I’m surprised considering you weren’t very mindful of your sutures.”

The muscles in Hanzo’s back tensed up before his last breath. Oddly enough, he could not stop the smile that crept onto his lips. The familiar scolding from ten years ago. He banished the smile remembering how reluctant she seemed to speak with him last night.

“You’re not getting any younger. You should be more careful not to aggravate your injuries.” She pulled her gloves off. “Okay, you’re done for now. Just stay seated with the emitter at your back for another thirty minutes. That will take care of the bruises  _ and  _ the damage inflicted to the skin around your sutures.”

Hanzo grimaced at the implied barb and turned his knees forward, watching Angela walk about the lab as she threw out disposables and put her tools away. Silence settled between them, broken by the light clicks of her heels and shuffling of tools.

Breaking the silence completely, he addressed her, “Doctor Ziegler.”

“Yes?” She turned her head minimally toward him, but not actually looking at him.

He felt a twitch of anger in his brow. “Would you please look at me?”

After a slight pause, she turned around to face him and looked him in the eye. “Okay. What is it?”

He clasped his hands together and propped his elbows on his knees. “What made you change your mind about me staying here?”

She leaned back against the counter and put her hands into her lab coat pockets. “Well… Before that, I should apologize for how I had behaved since your arrival. It was extremely unprofessional-”

Hanzo began to interject, “You do not need-”

“Let me finish,” she cut him off sternly.

He shut his mouth.

She took a deep breath and continued, “‘First, do no harm.’ ...My oath. My creed. I behaved most unprofessionally. My lack of attentiveness could have resulted in dire consequences that could have risked your wellbeing, and that is absolutely unacceptable.” She paused, working her mouth around as though trying to form the next words in her mouth was proving to be difficult. “Second, what you said to me last night. You’re overestimating my value as part of Overwatch. While my role is vital, Overwatch would never accept losing  _ any  _ member of its team. We’re not here to serve one person. This team operates to provide help to everyone in need. That being said, if I were to ask you to leave, that would be exceedingly selfish on my part and unfair to Genji. I was not about to force you away because - because I was being shortsighted.”

Hanzo only stared blankly back at her.

She returned the stare and shifted her weight, displaying her discomfort with his silence. “Well…?”

“I think you are not being completely forthcoming with me.”

Her brows pinched together and she shook her head. “I’m doing this for Genji’s sake -”

“No,” he interrupted. 

She blinked slightly startled.

“It is not just Genji. There is another reason.”

“No. There isn’t -”

“Doctor Ziegler,” he interrupted again. “You were terrified of me just days ago. I cannot help but feel that your change of heart is… curious. I doubt Genji’s words alone would have been enough to move you to overcome your… aversion to my presence.”

She looked down at her feet and idly kicked at the wheeled instrument table in front of her. “If you must know, McCree spoke some sense into me.” She held a brief pause and frowned. “He made it clear that if the ‘Doctor Ziegler’ from 6 years ago could see how I was behaving now, she would have been very disappointed in me.”

He almost smiled. “And I thought I was the one who was always too hard on myself.” He stood up carefully, grabbed the emitter, and carried it with him as he approached Angela. She didn’t notice him until he was barely an arm’s length away. When she realized he was right in front of her, she jerked backward and looked at him warily. Placing the emitter on the counter, he fished Angela’s hands from her pockets and held them in his, ignoring the extremely perplexed look on her face.

“Your hands stopped shaking.” He lightly ran his thumbs over the tops of her hands.

“What?” She looked like she was about to hit him.

He was slightly surprised to feel her pulse racing given how placid she was some moments ago. Even though she had managed to calm her nerves, she was still uncomfortable around him.

“They shook the last time you examined my stitches,” he answered, still staring at her hands.

She finally looked down at his hands. They were more worn than she remembered. His skin was darker and showed signs of age, but they felt warm and comfortable. Those deadly hands… She knew what they were capable of. What they had done. And yet, they were surprisingly gentle as they held her own.

“Is that so?” she murmured.

“I understand what I did in the past is unforgivable. Even worse, I implicated you as the reason for it. It was wrong of me to do so -”

“Shimada,” she cut him off. 

He finally looked up at her.

She pulled her right hand from his grasp and placed it on his shoulder. “You were dealing with a lot of volatile emotions.” She turned her eyes down. “I was no better, especially considering you had just risked yourself to aid us in Hanamura. You saved the team.” She raised her eyes again. “You saved me.”

Hanzo closed his eyes. “I feel that is not enough.”

“Well, if you’re feeling contrite, there is something you can do about it.”

He opened his eyes and raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

“You can help us.”

"Overwatch?"

She nodded.

He shook his head. “I do not think I would be a good fit,” he reasoned.

“You’re every bit as much an Overwatch agent as the rest of us.”

Hanzo released a snort in disagreement.

“I know it sounds silly, but think about it.” Angela smiled despite the tension gripping her heart. “You’ve demonstrated bravery on more than one occasion. You’re skilled in combat and a brilliant tactician.”

“All of that sounds rather generic,” he said snidely.

Her face fell solemnly. “Well, I have never seen you put yourself before others. Not once.”

That made Hanzo go quiet.

Inexplicably, tears were starting to gather at the corners of her eyes. “Even all those years ago, your clan came first. You never took time for yourself. You -”

"I disagree." He frowned. "I did nothing more than try to cover my own -"

"You risked yourself to save me," she cut him off sternly.

"I was -"

"Twice." Her voice grew more firm.

"Doctor Ziegler -"

Hanzo’s comm interrupted him with a sharp beep.

He stopped, puzzled at the sound, but continued, “There are countless reasons why -”

His comm beeped again.

She stepped back and rubbed her eyes. “Do you need to answer that?”

“Excuse me.” He turned away awkwardly and retrieved his comm from his pocket. “Hello?” His expression immediately shifted to concern. “Very well. I will be there shortly,” he concluded the call and pocketed his comm. “I am needed in the conference room.”

* * *

Winston, McCree, Genji, and Lena were gathered in the conference room, discussing changes in Talon’s occupation in Hanamura. Analysis presented itself that Talon had redirected interest from Hanamura to neighboring regions. As they were discussing causes for this change, Angela and Hanzo entered the conference room.

“Angela, we weren’t expecting you to come as well,” Winston stated in observation.

Angela replied flatly, “I’m here to ensure you’re not getting my patient wrapped up in something he’s not recovered enough for.”

Everyone gathered around the table exchanged curious glances. McCree smirked oddly, and Lena covered her mouth to hide her grin.

Winston narrowed his eyes cynically at the children next to him and stated, “Of course. We only have some questions for Hanzo.”

Angela cast doubtful looks at all of them before she said, “Very well.” She motioned to Hanzo to take a seat at the table and moved to take a chair off to the side.

Winston started with the usual formalities. “Thank you for coming, Hanzo. Obviously, Genji you know. This is Lena Oxton and Jesse McCree."

Lena smiled. "We met earlier when I left for my supply trip."

Hanzo did his best to return the smile, and added, "Yes, and McCree and I are already somewhat acquainted as well." The tone in Hanzo’s voice wavered with uncertainty ever so slightly as he finished the last statement.

Winston nodded. "I see."

Hanzo nodded. "May I ask what you have questions concerning?”

“Well, we know that while you were in Hanamura, you were attempting to stymie Talon’s influence in the region, correct?”

“Yes, that is correct. I presume Genji informed you of that.”

“Yes, he did. He also fought hard to provide a positive character reference to ensure we aided you in your recovery in return for your efforts to save our team.” Winston gave Genji a nod of acknowledgment.

The brothers exchanged glances. Genji dipped his head slightly in embarrassment. Hanzo hid a smile and turned his attention back to Winston.

“We would like to ask if you have any intel that you can share with us on Talon operations?”

“I believe you are already aware of what transpired there.”

Winston gestured to the projections on the conference table, displaying the basic points of the information collected while in Hanamura. “To some extent. We understand that different Yakuza leaders have been in and out of the facility in Hanamura under the pretense of alliances to be brokered with Talon, but the strategic purpose eludes us. We don’t know why they decided to organize such activities in close proximity to your clan’s stronghold. And historically, Japan was reluctant to allow Overwatch to aid them when they much rather preferred to handle their matters internally. Our acquisition of Genji is probably the only reason why we could make a significant move on any illegal organization in Japan. We need your help to understand what is happening so that maybe we can resolve any potential problems that result from Talon’s actions in Japan.”

Hanzo regarded Winston’s words a moment, unsure of how he should explain the information he knew about Talon’s interest in Hanamura specifically. Considering what he did know and the conversation he just had with Angela, he had to make a choice: either run or stay.

Hanzo began in a subdued tone, “I am quite certain you will not like the reason behind Talon activity in and around Hanamura.”

“So you know?” Winston queried.

“Yes.”

“Would you be able to tell us?”

_ No turning back now. _ He took a deep breath followed by a metered pause. “Talon aims to acquire me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapters will be a long time coming. My deepest apologies. Still, I hope what I manage to deliver in the future will not disappoint!


End file.
